Coming Home ***MISSING SCENE (CH IX) RESTORED***
by GuardianEnzo
Summary: A S4 fanfic prompted by my reaction to 4.04, "Sacrifice". It concerns the fallout from a decision Dot makes in the heat of battle, and a strange gift from a virus. ***Note: A major scene was mistakenly omitted - it's been restored as Chapter IX***
1. Chapter I

Sheesh – could things get any weirder Dan Green Normal dgreenAnt 2 326 2001-11-06T15:20:00Z 2001-11-06T15:20:00Z 7 3915 22316 185 44 27405 9.4402 0 0 COMING HOME 

Sheesh – could things get any weirder?

Enzo didn't think so.  Having two of _him _around – sort of – had been weird enough.  Well, that was still the weirdest thing, maybe.  But now there were two Bobs, too! And in their own way, they seemed almost as different from each other as he and Matrix.  And Hex – she'd turned out to be nice!  Weird, yeah – Enzo didn't figure Hex would ever get past weird.  But nice – funny, almost like a crazy aunt or something.  Like a big kid.  And she's saved the whole deleted net, too – though Enzo felt a surge of pride in thinking about the role he'd played in that.  The boy felt an aching emptiness in his heart when thinking about Hex, with an intensity that surprised him.  

There were a few nanos of euphoria when it was all over.  All Enzo had allowed himself to think about since the game cube left was saving Mainframe.  It was as if everything else had faded away, and his processor worked with an amazing clarity and single-mindedness – especially after he'd rebooted into Guardian blues.  The boy wasn't even sure _how_ he'd done that – he'd just _done_ it.  And it had worked!  Enzo didn't even know for sure if he _was_ a real Guardian – Hex had called him "Young Guardian" but she was nuts, even if she _was_ nice.  It didn't even seem to matter -  when he'd won that game and come home, everything else fell away except saving his family, saving Mainframe.  And now they were safe.  Well, most of them…

That's when the bad thoughts started creeping in, as soon as he knew everyone was safe.  He thought of Dad.  It wasn't fair!  He'd had what seemed like a few moments with him and it was all over, just like that.  And because he was a null monster – cool as that was – there hadn't even been a hug, or a kiss on the forehead, or a wrestling match – not like before, when he was little.  A kid.  And now Dad was gone, back to being Nibbles again – and without Hex around, Enzo would probably never even get to talk to him again.  It wasn't fair…

Bad as those thoughts were – and they made Enzo so sad his lip quivered, just a little, to think of them – there were even worse ones in his head.  Enzo loved his Dad, loved him as much as he could and with all his heart but his Dad was still remote, distant, like a dream.  Enzo had accepted that he was gone, once.  For all the love he felt the feelings weren't the same.  Not like with her.  With Dot.

Enzo had gone with them to the Principal Office, had sat by and stared nervously – bemused by the very weirdness of it – as they'd hooked up Bob – the _new _Bob – or was it the old one? – to the old (new?) Bob.  He'd watched as they transfused some of Bob's code into his clone, watched as the long-haired Glitch-Bob shimmered, almost faded away, as if he were a dream, then slowly began to firm, solidify.  Watched as Dot hovered by his bedside nervously, looking first at one Bob, then the other, her expression unreadable.  Tried to smile back at her when she occasionally glanced his way, smiled at him.

Phong pronounced that the transfusion had worked, Bob was out of danger.  He was still sleeping – Phong said he'd probably sleep for the entire cycle.  Dot kissed him once, on the forehead, then took the other Bob's hand and walked out of the hospital room.  Enzo followed a few steps behind, no one saying anything.  Finally Dot turned to him and asked him if was OK, if he was hungry.  Enzo shook his head – his stomach was rolling.  Bob – the new-old Bob – winked at him and ruffled his hair.  "That uniform looks good on you, Kiddo."

"Thanks." Enzo smiled back, and meant it.  Any Bob was good to have around, as far as he was concerned.  And he'd never forget what Bob had said to Dot, before he'd gone into that game with Frisket, Hack and Slash.

"We're going to go back to the diner and talk, Enzo." Dot said softly, wearily.  "Are you coming?"

"Naw." He replied, knowing that he wasn't invited for the talking part.  "I'll be around in a while."

"Don't stay out after dark.  I'll fix you something when you come home, all right?"

"K."  Enzo thought about trying to smile, decided against it.  He was just too tired.  He waved at the pair of them and pulled out his zip board.  After a few micros, without ever really thinking about it, he was at Floating Point, staring out over the city below him.

There was a hand at his neck – surprising, startling him, but a soft touch, gentle.  "Ooh!  That tickles."

"_What_ did you say?"  A musical laugh from behind him.  AndrAIa.

He turned.  "Nothing.  Hi."

"Hi."  She smiled at him, her beautiful, magical, half-laughing smile, and he smiled back.  He couldn't help it.  "Quite a cycle, huh?"

"You said it!"

"Funny running into you here.  I guess the you were right – the two of you are an awful lot alike."

"Huh?"

The game sprite pointed.  Matrix stood, arms folded, a stone's throw away, staring out over the city.  "You both wound up at the same place.  No coincidence, if you ask me."

"Yeah.  I guess." Enzo said softly.  The prospect that he was just like Matrix, _was_ Matrix, didn't seem like the thrilling proposition it had a cycle ago.  Back when he was a kid.  But he'd been right about one thing – Andri _was_ a babe.  There was absolutely no getting around that.  "Is he OK?"

"He will be." The game sprite sighed.  "We all will."

"What…  What'd Hex do to his icon, anyways?"

"I dunno." Andri smiled.  "What'd she do to _yours_?"

"I'm not sure.  I…  Did - Did she take his codes away?"

"Yeah.  But he'll be all right.  The main thing is that we're all here, still processing.  Thanks to you, Sparky."

"Stop it…"

"Come on, now."  She smiled again and patted his cheek.  "I'm so proud of you.  You came through for all of us when we needed you.  For the whole net.  Thank you."

Enzo smiled weakly.  "You're welcome, I guess.  I'm just glad I didn't screw it up!"

She laughed softly.  "Enzo…  How come you weren't infected, anyway?  What happened?"

The boy's stomach lurched, and he looked away.  "Lucky, I guess."  He stared out over the city, and there was silence for a few nanos.

"You were in a game cube, weren't you?  It's the only way."  Enzo said nothing, and AndrAIa squeezed his shoulder gently.  Finally, he nodded.  "Did Dot tell you to go?"

"Maybe." He whispered.  He turned away from the overlook and towards the game sprite, past her.  "I have to get home.  I promised I wouldn't stay out past dark."  The absurdity of the statement, after all that had happened, was stark in his ears.  He started towards Baudway at a slow walk.

He passed by Matrix, standing a few paces off the path staring out at the P.O..  The big sprite looked up, didn't say anything.  "Hey." Enzo offered, slowing to a shuffling standstill.

Matrix met Enzo' eyes for a nano, then glanced quickly at his icon.  He nodded.  "You OK?" Enzo whispered.

"Yeah." Matrix replied.  He stared at Enzo for a moment, his eyes unsure.  Finally, he turned back to the cityscape.  "Good job."

"Thanks."  Enzo stared at the big sprite's feet for a nano, the turned.  There wasn't anything else to say, nothing inside him for Matrix right then.  They'd work it out.  The boy waved at AndrAIa, who smiled and waved back before taking a place beside Matrix and softly touching his elbow.  Enzo turned and headed back towards the Diner.

That night Enzo lay in his docking bay, hands behind his head, sleep a million systems away.  He hadn't eaten dinner – just an energy bar from the counter at the diner, and even that wasn't sitting well.  Bob had gone home at some point, saying goodnight to Enzo and kissing Dot on the cheek, and Enzo had watched him go with a surge of affection.  He went to bed early, without saying goodnight to Dot, and rebooted into his PJs without even bothering to brush his teeth.  It just didn't seem important.

After a while Dot came into his room, surprised at finding the lights out so early.  She slowly walked over to the docking bay and sat down, her sigh matching the creak in the springs as his small bed sagged under her weight.  "Hey, you."

"Hi."

She sat there for a few millis, occasionally patting his arm softly.  "We had quite an adventure, huh?"  Enzo didn't say anything; just nodded in the darkness lit only by the dim light from the hallway, not sure if she could see it.  

"We'll get Dad back.  We'll find a way.  I know we will."

"Yeah.  I hope so." Enzo replied softly.

Dot smiled down at him.  "He's proud of you.  You should have heard him.  We all are…"

"Thanks."

"Enzo…"  She drew in air as if she were going to speak for a while, but nothing came out.  She sighed again.  "I guess you're tired.  I know I am.  Get some sleep, OK?"

"K."  

"Night."  She bent to kiss him, on the cheek or the forehead, as she often did, but he rolled away from her, towards the wall, without even thinking about it.  She drew in breath again, this time more quickly.  Enzo squeezed his eyes shut tight, hugged his chest, and waited.  Dot was still for a few nanos.  Then she kissed him on the back of the head and stood, wordlessly.  The door closed, blocking the last of the light from the room and leaving Enzo to the quiet dark.

Enzo was gone before Dot was even up and about the next cycle.  He wasn't sure how much he'd slept, except that it wasn't very much.  He was dimly aware that it should have been a school day, but he couldn't imagine anyone would miss him, couldn't even imagine _being_ in school, studying Fortran or Cobol as if everything in the net hadn't changed.  Frisket found him, as he always did, and the two of them silently stalked the city, strangely quiet and subdued around them.  

Somewhere, he knew, the grown-ups would be hard at work trying to bring things back to normal – Phong and Mouse and AndrAIa and Matrix and the new guy, Ray, who Enzo didn't know but thought looked pretty alphanumeric, especially with that pixelacious surfboard.  But they wouldn't want any part of him for that – he'd be in the way, now that Daemon was settled and the crisis had passed.

Enzo had missed Dot – seethed in his heart that she wasn't paying attention to him, spending time with him, pawning him off on Phong or Cecil.  But they were in trouble – the whole net was.  That was all it was, right?  Of course it was.  So he'd tried to be a good boy, as much as he could anyways.  He'd even halfheartedly convinced himself he was Matrix, that he was a big, cool renegade like Matrix was – but all that'd done was irritate his sister.  And he'd never really believed it anyways.

Enzo felt a burning rage boiling in him as he passed the cycle, leading Frisket through the park, throwing rocks into the data sea, just wasting time.  Rage at the unfairness of everything, all of it.  By the time he ended up at Old Man Pearson's it was like a constant companion, strangely exciting in it's own way, a feeling he'd never had before.  It was strange, scary, more than a little thrilling.

"Shoo!" Enzo snarled at a null that was skittering near his feet.  The boy kicked moodily around the junkyard for a while, not really looking for anything but too full of energy to stop.  Careless, he took a step and tripped, fell forward, barely getting his hands under him before his face slammed into a jagged 5.25" drive bay.  He bounced to his feet, feeling irritation welling up through him like lava in a volcano.

His eyes fell on the offending object, a half-rotted I-Mac, that had felled him.  He felt a white-hot burning behind his eyes and raised his hands.  With a ferocious growl that surprised him even as he heard it leave his lips, he raised his hands and oddly, inexplicably, there was a flash of light and a deafening crash as the I-Mac flew across the yard, smashing into the exterior wall and shattering into a hundred pieces.  Frisket fell back on his haunches and whined, deep in his throat.

Enzo stood panting, mouth hanging open, stunned.  There was a clatter of footsteps and Mister Pearson appeared, stopped dead in his tracks.  Enzo looked over at him, feeling tears burning his cheeks.  "Boy?"

"_What _just happened?" Enzo rasped.  There was a sense of power, of heat behind his eyes, slowly fading but still there, still thrilling and terrifying.

Pearson took a couple of shambling steps closer, eyes wide.  "Boy?  You all right?"

Enzo squeezed his eyes, felt more tears.  "S…Sorry.  I'm sorry…"

"Eh!  What ye be doin' here?  Ye don't look well at all Lad, not at all."

"Sorry!"  Enzo rasped again and turned, ran from the junkyard as fast as he could, not even thinking to open his zip board, just running as fast as the burning energy inside could make him run, Frisket's barking and Mister Pearson's shouting behind him fading in the drumbeat in his ears, running and running until he was back at the diner, running past the startled Cecil, who looked genuinely concerned if Enzo had looked up to see him, which he hadn't, and ran until he was in his apartment, in his room, in his bed, and under the covers, boots still on his feet, and he pulled the covers up over his head and lay, shaking, for a long time, until he realized he was more tired than scared or sad, and sleep overcome him.

There were dreams, weird ones.  Dreams where he felt his as if his body was strange, not even a body but a doorway of some kind.  A doorway through which power would come surging from somewhere – not here, where he was, but outside it, somehow – and _into_ the place he was, power flowing from him and through him affecting everything around him, causing it – all of it, sprites and binomes and inanimate objects, all of it – to dance around wildly, out of control, none of it knowing where it would end up.  The sight filled him with a strange giddiness.

That dream tired him, even more than he was already tired.  The rest of his dreams were soft, slow – as if he hadn't the energy anymore to dream any other kind.  He dreamed of faces and touches and feelings, painfully deep and intense.  He dreamed of one face more than any, of one touch more than any other touch.  He could feel her moving away from him, felt himself growing cold as she did.  He called out to her, tried to keep her close, but it was no good – she drifted, more remote with each passing nano.  He felt a rising emptiness as she did, a yawning realization that she'd always been with him.  She was all that ever had, everything else was fleeting, but not her.  She'd always been there, always.  And now she was falling farther and farther away, and he could still see her face, she didn't even seem sad.  But he was.  He reached for her, tried to call to her but couldn't…  He couldn't make a sound…

Enzo started awake with a gasp.  He felt his Guardian uniform clammy with sweat clinging against him.  His mouth was dry and sour.  The boy groaned and stretched, his muscles weak and achy.  And heard the breathing behind him and rolled, quickly, in a nano of panic.

"Shhh!  It's OK."

"Dot?" he rasped.  She was sitting on his desk chair, rolled to the side of his bed.  It was too small for her.

"You've been sleeping for seconds."  He could see her sad smile in the yellow glow from his night-light – the one she'd gotten for him when he was small, afraid of monsters in the dark.  She must've switched it on.  "I was starting to worry."

"I'm fine." He mumbled, wanting and not wanting her to worry for him.  He pushed himself to a sitting position.  "What time is it?"

"Almost twenty-eight hundred."

"Twenty-eight?  Jeez…"

"Are you all right?  Do you feel sick?  You didn't even take your boots off!"

"I'm fine, I was just tired from everything.  Did you wake me up?"

"No." she sighed.  "You woke up on your own.  You seemed to be having some pretty bad dreams."

Enzo frowned and leaned wearily back against his headboard, swallowing a yawn.  "I'm OK.  I'll be out in a little while."

"Enzo…"  She looked away for a nano, grabbed his hand.  "I think we need to talk.  We-"

"I said I was OK, Sis.  Just-"

"I don't think you are." She interrupted.  "I think I know you well enough to know, Sweetie."

Enzo bristled for a nano.  _She shouldn't call me that.  _"Sis-"

"Oh, Enzo."  She cupped his chin in her other hand.  "You look very handsome in those clothes, you know?  Much nicer than what you were wearing before."

"Whatever."

She held his chin for a few moments, locking his eyes to hers.  _We have the same eyes._  The thought popped into his head.  "I don't blame you for feeling upset, Angel.  I don't blame you for being upset with _me_-"

"Just end file." He interrupted, softly but sharply.  "Just…  Don't.  OK?"

"Enzo, I want you to understand-"

"I do!  I do.  And nothing you say could make any difference so I don't want to hear it."

"Enzo, please-"

"DON'T, Dot!"  It was a growl, an echo of the one at Old Man Pearson's place.  Dot drew back a little.  "Don't."

Dot shook her head quickly, as if she were momentarily dazed.  Her eyes refocused on the boy in front of her.  "You can't make me leave, Enzo – so you might as well let me say what I have to say.  All right?"  Enzo didn't reply – he rubbed his eyes with his fists and shut them tightly, wordlessly.  She sighed again and stroked his hair.  

"I know you're very upset with me.  I don't blame you – I would be, too, in your place.  But I want you to understand why I did what I did."

A low voice.  "I understand."

"No…  You don't."  She sounded weak, small.  Defeated.  That scared him.  "Things were bad, Enzo – very bad.  I tried to hide it from you.  I always try to hide it from you.  But I…  There was nothing more I could do.  Everyone always thinks I have a plan, always a plan.  Like I have them all in a big box somewhere, and I can pull one out whenever I need one.  But that's not how it is.  I was out of ideas, and so was everybody else.  I was down to my last one, and I knew – knew, in my heart – that it wasn't going to work.  I wanted to protect you.  To save you!  And I couldn't think of any other way…"

"And besides – I'm just a backup, right?"

"Enzo!"  She was crying now – he could tell in her voice, even with his eyes closed.  "No!  No you are not!  Do you think…think… For one nano that I…  That I care-"

"You sent me away."

"I wanted to protect you!  What else could I do?"

He opened his eyes, looked at her, the tears on her cheeks glistening in the pale glow of the night-light.  He felt none on his own.  "You sent me away.  You sent me away all alone."

"With Frisket!  And Hack and Slash…"

"You sent me away."  He said it softly, almost calmly.  "If you loved me you wouldn't have sent me away.  'Come home and save us.'  That's what you said!  You sent me away and if you loved me you'd never do that!"

"I do love you!"  She sighed, wiped her cheeks.  "I tried to send Bob away too, you know."  

"So why didn't you send me with Bob then?"  Accusingly.

"Enzo…  I suppose – I suppose I knew he wouldn't go…"

"But you knew _I_ would.  'Cause you didn't give me any choice!  You had Hack and Slash make sure of that."

"I didn't want you to delete!  I couldn't think of any other way, Enzo.  I wanted you to at least have a chance…  And you _did_ come home and save us.  You just didn't need to be as Matrix to do it – you were plenty big enough already, that's all.  You did come home and save us…"

"How could you?  How could you send me away, all alone?  How could you do that if you loved me?  How?"  His breath beginning to quicken, becoming sharper, harsher.

"I _did_ it because I loved you.  I tried to protect you, protect Bob.  You're the most important things in the net to me.  I tried.  Enzo-"

"No!"  A half-shout.  He buried his face in his hands.  "I couldn't go, Dot!  I couldn't do it.  I'm not Matrix, I couldn't leave you.  Why did you send me away?"

"Because I thought I was doing what I had to do." She sighed.  He felt her hands on his shoulders, drawing him to her, but he resisted.  "I'm sorry, Enzo.  I'm sorry that I couldn't think of a better plan.  I'm sorry I couldn't find another way.  I tried – I swear to the User, I tried.  But I was out of plans."

"Dot…"

"If…  If I hadn't, we'd all be deleted.  You wouldn't have been able to save us, and you did.  You saved all of us, you and Hex did.  The whole net – you really did-"

"Do you think that makes it all right?" he snarled.  If I'd done what you wanted I wouldn't even have come back!  Just like you wanted!"

"That's not what I wanted!"  She pulled him to her, still stronger than he was, he was a little sprite and feeling weak at that, but he didn't respond to her touch or uncover his gaze.  "If you knew how I suffered…  How I suffered when you lost that game.  What it was like not having you with me…  If you knew that you'd know I'd delete in a nano before I'd send you away.  You'd know I'd never do it unless I thought it was the only way to save you…"

She held him for a few nanos and he allowed her to, stiff and unmoving.  "I can only ask you to forgive me, Sweetie.  I can only ask you to look in your heart and know that I'd never do anything to hurt you.  If I was wrong I'm sorry – more sorry than I'll ever be able to tell you.  I thought I was doing what was best, I really did.  I'm so, so sorry…"

"Dot…"  he couldn't manage more than a whisper.  The touch of her, the closeness of her… It felt so _right_.  "Dot…"

"I'm sorry." She whispered, slowly rocking him.  "I love you, Angel.  I always have and I always will, and I'm so sorry.  I hope you can forgive me."

"Promise me you'll never do that again.  Promise me!  Promise me you'll never send me away no matter what happens, promise…"

"I promise.  I promise a thousand times.  I'm tired of viruses and wars and system reboots and I'm tired of having to make decisions… I just want us to be together, you and me and Bob and all of us.  I promise you a thousand times I'll never send you away again."

"Promise me.  Promise!"

"I promise, Angel.  Never."

He clung to her, finally, fiercely.  He wanted to squeeze her, snap her in two if he could his anger was so strong.  But he couldn't; he was just a little sprite, of course, and his anger was stronger than his body.  He was just a little sprite and he couldn't help feeling safe when she held him and loving her with all of his code even if he was so angry he wanted to snap her in two.  He couldn't help it.

"I love you, Angel.  I'm sorry.  I hope you can forgive me some cycle."  She kissed his forehead, over and over.  "I'm so proud of you.  I'll always be proud of you.  You knew what had to be done, and you did it.  We're together because of what you did and what Hex did.  I'll always be proud of you and we'll never forget her."

"I love you too." He breathed, and hated himself for saying it, for being weak.  Hated himself for loving her and needing her so deleted much he couldn't stand it.  The tension started to slide from his sore muscles, gently seeping away into the night as he softened in Dot's arms.  

"Angel." She sighed.  He knew what she was waiting for, what she wanted him to say, but he wouldn't say it.  _Couldn't _say it, not now.  Not for a long time, anyway – or so he figured.  Maybe some cycle, but not now.  She'd just have to understand.  So he didn't say anything at all and she just held him, rocked him, kissed his head occasionally.  "We'll be all right."

He opened his eyes at last, cheeks still dry.  She smiled at him and he managed a weak response.  "Are you hungry?  Wanna get up for a while?"

"No.  I just…  I just wanna sleep some more.  I'm so tired."

She frowned, sighed, then nodded.  "If you're sure."  She kissed him on the nose and slowly lowered him to his bed.

"I'm sure.  Thanks."

"OK, Guardian."  Enzo lay back down, on his back, a crushing weariness seeming to suffuse his entire body.  Dot gently worked his boots off his feet – pausing to give each socked foot a gentle squeeze - and set them beside the docking bay.  She pulled his blanket up to his chin and knelt beside him.  "We've all been through a lot, you know?  And we still have a lot to decide, I'm afraid."  She sighed, seeming almost as weary as he felt.  "You'll feel better tomorrow, and we'll go out and have a big breakfast and take a long walk.  Just you and me and Bob and Frisket, OK?"

"OK." He smiled.  It didn't seem like a half-bad proposition.

"Cool."  She closed her eyes and leaned over him, kissing his cheek.  "I love you, Sweetie."

"Love you too."  Enzo kissed her cheek softly, easily.  And with that, she ruffled his hair one last time and was gone, leaving him along with the glow of his night-light and his thoughts.  He felt her absence acutely as soon as she was gone, an aching emptiness inside him.  He thought of an eternity if that ache and his anger at her flared brightly again, for a nano, but he was tired and it was too much work to be angry right then.

He felt Hex's absence too, deep inside him.  He thought of Mister Pearson's and that strange feeling, that thrill, that power that had coursed through him, felt a throbbing at his icon and he shivered under his warm blanket.  He didn't understand it, hoped it would never repeat itself but hoped it _did_, too, missing that feeling even as he wished it away.

Enzo thought of his father, so bizarre and yet somehow exactly the same – the same warm, bemused, gentle presence he'd always been, and ached for him.  _I'll get you back, Dad – I promise.  I'll do it somehow…_ He felt oddly confident as he thought it, he knew it was true.  He _would_ find a way – he just had to.

When he woke up the next day Bob would be there, he bet – not the Bob with the long hair and the web scars, the strangely gentle and troubled man that Enzo hardly felt he knew – but the Bob of Enzo's past, when he'd been a kid.  The Bob who hardly seemed like more than a kid himself sometimes, but somehow always made Enzo feel better about himself and somehow always managed to chase Enzo's fear away.  How was it possible, they were both here?  How could it happen?  And what would Dot do?  The password on her organizer was "Guardian" after all…

_Of course it's possible, dummy – you and Matrix are both here, aren't you?_  Matrix – Enzo was worried about him.  He'd never been kind to Enzo, truth be told, but Enzo wanted deeply in his gut to be close to him – to have the big sprite as a part of his life.  Matrix had seemed broken, defeated, even as Daemon's infection had been thwarted.  And what had Hex done to him, to his icon?

Frisket ambled into the room and stood beside the bed, woofed softly.  Enzo smiled and absently scratched his ears, and the dog jumped onto the bed and lay his head on Enzo's ankles.  The boy yawned, all of the fears and worries and faces slowly beginning to fade from his processor.  He was only a little sprite, after all, at the end of the cycle – there was only so much he could worry about.  The last face he saw as he drifted off was Dot, as she almost always was, and whatever else had happened or _would_ happen she was right in the next room here and now – and that was enough.  And with that thought in his processor, warm and comforting, he fell asleep.


	2. Chapter II

COMIG HOME dgreenAnt Normal dgreenAnt 3 2 2001-11-07T17:47:00Z 2001-11-07T19:30:00Z 9 3348 19088 Epiphany 159 38 23441 9.4402 

COMING HOME  
  
PART II

Morning came bright and perfect, a cycle that any other would pale in comparison to.  Enzo squinted as he opened his eyes, a pale ache seeming lo lurk deep in the recesses of his head, behind his eyes.  He felt a hand on his shoulder, realized that Dot was gently shaking him.  With a groan, he rolled onto his side and stared at her through slitted eyes.  She smiled.  "Morning."

"Morning."  His throat still dry, his mouth still sour.

Dot cocked her head slightly as she looked at him, moving her hand from his shoulder to his hair.  She tousled it softly and left it there.  "Are you sure you're all right, Honey?"

"I'm fine."  A weak smile.  "What time is it?"

"Nine-fifty."  Enzo dimly registered her words, feeling muzzy and disoriented.  Nine-fifty?  He'd been sleeping for a long time.  But he was still so tired…"Enzo?  Did you hear me?"

"What?  Yeah…"  More dim recollections.  "Were…  Do you still want to go out for breakfast?"

"Of course.  You must be famished – you've hardly eaten anything for two cycles!"

Enzo was aware of a conspicuous emptiness in his stomach, though he felt strangely ambivalent about it – none of the frantic hunger pangs he was used to when he woke up in the morning.  "Yeah.  Guess so."

"Good, good."  She bent and kissed his forehead.  "You need a shower first, though.  You stink."

"Dot!"

"Go on, then."  She swung his legs out over the bed the way she sometimes did when he refused to get up for school, forcing him to sit up.  "I'll meet you upstairs in a little while, OK?"

"K."  He yawned.  Jeez – he hadn't eaten or showered or anything in almost two cycles.  Weird…  More dim recollections.  "Is Bob here?"

"He's meeting us upstairs."

"He's coming with us?"

"Sure."

"Cool." Enzo smiled.  He was excited at the prospect of spending time with Bob.  _His_ Bob.  He felt a pang of disloyalty at the thought – weren't they _both_ Bob?  "How…  How's Bob?  The other one?"

Dot sighed.  "Phong says he'd doing pretty well – just need to get his energy recharged and he'll be fine."  Enzo knew her well enough to know she wasn't telling him the whole story, but he wasn't sure what she was hiding.  She always knew when _he_ was hiding something, too – the difference was, she usually knew _what_.  "Don't worry about Bob, Sweetie.  We'll stop by the P.O. after breakfast and see him.  I want to have Phong take a look at your icon, too."

"My icon?"  Enzo felt his sluggish processor slowly catching up with him, as if it were a few steps behind in a race.  Of course – Hex.  He felt a knot form in his stomach.  "Why?"

"Just to make sure you're OK, that's all.  You haven't been yourself…  We just want to see if we can figure out what Hex might have done, that's all.  Don't worry – there won't be any needles or anything!"

"I'm myself!" he rasped defensively.

"I know!" Dot chuckled.  "I'm sure you're just tired from saving the net and all…" She winked and patted his cheek.  "But better safe than sorry, you know?  I just want to know you're all right."

"OK, I guess…"  Enzo yawned and stumbled out of bed, almost fell as he stood.

"Whoa!" Dot caught him under the shoulders.  "What's wrong?"

"Nothing!  I…  I guess must've been lying down too long.  My legs didn't wanna work…"  He didn't tell her about the wave of nausea that had washed over him.

He managed a smile.  "Pretty basic, huh?"

She cocked her head thoughtfully again, like she had a few nanos earlier.  "Maybe we should head straight for the P.O. now…"

"No!  I'm fine, honest.  I'm just really hungry.  I wanna have breakfast with Bob, please?"

"All right…  Get yourself together and come on upstairs.  We'll go as soon as you're ready."

"Cool, Dot.  Thanks."  He managed to get to the bathroom without any further problems, his dizziness and weakness fading into a more manageable achy malaise.  

Enzo was picking at his German pancake, enjoying the company of Bob and Dot more than the food in front of him.  Dot cast worried glances at his plate occasionally, then at Bob.  The Guardian seemed less concerned than she did  - he wolfed down his waffles like a man who'd been trapped in the web for minutes. Finally, Enzo got the nerve up to ask him the question that had been troubling his mind all morning.  "Bob?  Where…  Where have you been all this time?"

"Long story, Pal." He sighed.  He glanced over at Dot, who returned his stare wordlessly.  "Plenty of time to talk about that later."

"Bob!  Please tell me – I wanna know!  C'mon…"

"Enzo-"

"Just give it some time, OK Kiddo?  We've all had a rough time of it, and things are still pretty weird around here.  Let us figure some stuff out first, then we'll talk about it."

"Were you in the web?"

Bob sighed.  "That's where Ray found me, yeah.  You weren't here when I got hosed by Megabyte, huh?"

"No." Enzo grumbled.  "Phong showed it to me on a DVD, though.  There was this really cute girl there, too…"

"AndrAIa.  Yeah, She's still pretty cute." Bob laughed.  "They grow up fast.  Dot tells me you've been back since the system restart, huh?"

"Uh-huh."  Enzo didn't like being reminded he was a backup.

"Pretty damn smart of me to think of that – even if I say so myself." The Guardian chuckled.  "Two of you and two of me – pretty basic stuff.  So…  I hear you saved the cycle, Pal."

"Uh…" Enzo felt his cheeks burning.  "Maybe."

"He did." Enzo could hear the smile in Dot's voice, but he didn't want to look at her right then.  "We're all proud of him."

"Good job, Kiddo." Bob grinned.  He leaned over the table and ruffled Enzo's hair.

"Thanks, Bob." The boy giggled.

"Let me take a look at that, Enzo."

"My icon?"

"Yeah.  Just for a nano."

"OK."  Enzo handed it over, feeling that knot in the pit of his stomach again.  Bob held it up to the light, turned it over and over.  "Well, I'll be a null if I can figure it out…"

"Bob?" Dot said softly. 

The Guardian shrugged, smiled crookedly.  "Never seen anything like it.  Maybe Phong can figure it out.  Don't think it's doing him any harm…"

"Of course not." Dot sighed.  

"Who knows with Hex?" Bob said with a shake of the head.  "I never saw her as a sprite, but I'd bet my last credit she was _never_ predictable."  He handed the icon back to Enzo, who returned it to his chest.  "Sounds like she took a shine to you though, Kiddo.  I don't think she'd do anything to hurt you."

"I know she wouldn't.  She was nice…"

"Enzo-"

"She _was_, Dot!  She helped save the net too, y'know!"

"Of course she did, Sweetie.  I didn't forget.  I just think…  Maybe she didn't always realize what she was doing.  It's not her fault – she wouldn't hurt you on _purpose_-"

"Dot-"

"Come on, guys – let's just let Phong worry about it, OK?" Bob interrupted.  "He'll be able to figure it out.  Why worry about it in the meantime?"

Dot smiled.  "You really are Bob, aren't you?"

"Who else would I be?"

"These cycles, I don't know how to answer that." Dot sighed wearily.  "Come on, Sweetie – finish your breakfast.  Got to get your strength up…"

"Where to first?" Enzo asked as the trio of sprites entered the medical unit at the Principal Office.  

"I'd like to get Enzo checked out as soon as I can." Dot answered, trying to keep the worry out of her voice.

"Dot, I'm OK…" 

"Sounds like a plan.  Listen – you guys go ahead and see Phong.  I want to go have a talk with myself, if you know what I mean.  I'd like to have a few micros alone with him, OK?"

Enzo, curiosity burning out of control, really wanted to be there for that – not to mention his usual trepidation at any trip to the medical unit.  "Bob, can't I go with you?"

"Not this time, Enzo.  I'll wait for you over there, OK?  Promise."

"All right." The boy sighed.  Bob winked and departed jauntily.  Enzo watched him as he strode towards his clone's room, then felt a warm hand grasp his own and gently lead him off.  "Dot, do I have to?"

"It'll be all right, I promise." Dot smiled as she opened a vidwindow.  "Come on – act your age.  You've been to the M.U. lots of times."

"But-"

"Phong?  I'm here with Enzo.  Are you ready?"

"Indeed, Child.  Bring him to exam room 4.05, if you please."

"Thanks, Phong."  Dot looked down at her brother.  "You're not scared, are you?"

"No!"

"I won't let anything happen, Sweetie.  We just want to make sure whatever Hex did isn't hurting you, that's all."  Enzo allowed himself to be led into a small exam room, busy with flashing instruments and sensors.  Phong was already there, spectacled eyes looking up from a data pad as the siblings entered.  "Hi, Phong.  All set?"

"Yes, Dot."  The old sprite smiled reassuringly at Enzo and whirred over to them.  "It is good to see you, My Son.  You've had a most exciting few cycles, have you not?  Indeed…"

"I guess so, Phong." Enzo replied dubiously.

"Hop up on the table, Child.  We will mostly be talking today, I think.  Nothing to concern yourself about."

"OK."  The boy pushed himself onto the cushioned examining table, as he had many times in the past, only to slip back to the floor as his arms gave out under his weight.  "Crash!"

"Here." Dot smiled, and easily lifted him onto the table.  Enzo glared at her and rubbed his arms.  The muscles ached as if he'd tried to life Matrix over his head.  He saw Dot cast a quick glance at Phong, thinking he didn't notice.

Phong whirred to his side, adjusting his glasses.  He grasped Enzo's wrist in one gnarled hand and started a timer on the data pad with the other.  "I don't have to get undressed, do I?"

"No, Child - not this cycle."

"No shots?"

"No shots, Young Guardian."  The old sprite smiled warmly and tapped his data pad.  "Be happy – at least today's visit is not because someone has invaded your brain, yes?"

"What?"  Enzo was used to not knowing what Phong was talking about, but it was a very odd thing to say… 

"Never mind Child, never mind…" Phong tittered.  "Hmm.  Clock speed is a little elevated.  Have you been running, Young Guardian?  Playing with Frisket?"

"He's been having breakfast with me and Bob, Phong.  No running at all this morning."

"I see.  I see.  And how have you been feeling, Child?  Any complaints?"

"I'm fine, Phong."

"Enzo!" Dot said sharply, in the tone that always made Enzo's spine snap taut.  "Don't lie to Phong – he's trying to help you, silly boy!"

Enzo sighed.  "I guess…  I guess I've been a little tired since -  I guess I've been a little tired for a couple cycles."

"He's barely been out of bed."

"Child?  Tell me more, please."  Phong shined a light into Enzo's eyes, forcing him to squint.

"I guess I've been sleeping a lot.  And my muscles feel kinda…  I dunno.  Weak or something."

"Have you been eating, My Boy?"

"Nothing at all yesterday, Phong.  And he barely touched his German pancake today."

"I can talk for myself…"

Phong frowned.  "Any stomach pain?"

"I just haven't been very hungry, Phong.  And yesterday I just wanted to sleep."

"Hmmmm.  Most interesting."  Phong patted Enzo's knee amicably and whirred off to stand directly across from him.  "Anything else?  Any other symptoms?"

Enzo stared back at him for a nano, indecision causing what little breakfast he'd eaten to roil, then down at his boots.  "Naw – that's all Phong.  I'm fine, honest."

"You're _sure_, Enzo?"

"Yeah, Dot – I said I was fine!  Why's everybody making such a big deal?"

"Enzo…" Dot let out an exasperated sigh.  "I told you – we just want to make sure you're OK.  A sprite your age should be out running around, not lying in bed for cycles at a time!  And you usually eat like a boy twice your size."

"Mmm.  May I see your icon, Child?"  
  


"Yeah."  Enzo handed it to the old sprite, who nodded and sped off to a bank of machines along one wall.  He placed the icon on a scanner and tapped a few buttons with spindly fingers.  "What're you doing?"

"Seeing what I can see, Child, seeing what I can see."

"Anything, Phong?" Dot asked nervously, sitting down next to her brother on the exam table.

"Mmmm.  Hmmm.  I have already perused the system logs quite carefully, Child.  File records, even the temp files.  Whatever our friend Hexadecimal did to Enzo's icon – and Matrix' for that matter – it didn't register in any of the system scans.  Matrix' seems to have survived unchanged – I believe that she extracted some of his Guardian codes in order to spread them with her as she fragmented throughout the net.  Enzo's icon, however, has clearly been altered in some fashion.  Interesting coloration…"

"Maybe that's all she did – just changed it so it'd look pretty to her." Enzo offered hopefully.

"I don't think so, Sweetie.  Remember what she said?" 

"Indeed.  And what was that, again?  'A gift, Young Guardian – so you don't grow up like _him_.'  Wasn't that it?"

"Something like that." Dot sighed.  "A gift from Hex – why doesn't that reassure me?"

Phong scooped the icon up and briskly rolled across the floor, handing it back to Enzo.  "She was indeed enigmatic, to the end.  However, I feel comfortable in assuming that whatever she did, she did it out of affection – to help Enzo, at least as she saw it."

"I still don't feel reassured."

"Stop it, Dot!  Stop saying that stuff about Hex!"

"Please, Children – let us not argue over such matters.  Let us simply strive to determine the truth."

"Right…  Right, Phong.  Did your scans show anything?"

Phong frowned and lifted his data pad.  "Nothing conclusive, I am afraid.  Despite Hex's use of the title, Enzo, it does not appear that your icon has been upgraded with the Guardian protocols."

"Crash it all!  Really?"  He'd known it in his heart, of course, but it was still disappointing…

"No, Child – which makes your remarkable efforts in rallying resistance to Daemon's infection that much more impressive."  Enzo cracked a half-smile at Phong's words, a little of the sting lifting away.  The old sprite patted his shoulder.  "Clearly, whatever Hex did she did to help you – in her view – differentiate yourself from your brother, Matrix."

"My…  brother?"  He'd never really thought of it that way before…  It sounded nice.

"Indeed.  How, exactly, she thought to do this I cannot say.  I will continue to study the results of these scans – perhaps something will become apparent.  In the meantime, please keep me informed of your condition.  I need to know if any other symptoms present themselves.  All right?"

"Sure, Phong.  No problem."

"Dot – you will make certain?"

"Of course."   She draped her arm around her brother protectively.

"I don't need _her_ to-"

"Good, good.  I do not think we need concern ourselves at this time – merely be vigilant.  And you, Child – you must eat, and rest, and do not push yourself if you feel weary.  If indeed your body is being affected by your altered icon, you must allow it to build its strength.  You will do this?"

"Yeah, Phong.  I promise.  Can we go see Bob now, Sis?"

"That is good, My Boy.  Go see Bob now.  Both of him."

Dot stood from the table and took Enzo by the waist, as if to lift him to the floor, but he shook her off.  "I can do it myself!"

"Sorry." She mumbled.  Enzo sighed and looked at his feet.

"Thanks.  I don't need you to help me, that's all."  He slid off the table, stifling a wince as his feet made contact with the floor.  "Let's go see Bob."

It was a short walk to the emergency ward of the medical unit, and neither sibling said anything as they traversed the hallway.  Dot knocked on Bob's door when they arrived, and a pair of voices – similar, yet oddly distinct – called for them to come in.  When Enzo slipped through the open door it was quite a shock – he'd never seen both Guardians together, awake.  Like their voices their faces were eerily alike, yet also distinct in ways that were harder to pinpoint.  And then there were the more obvious web scars and long hair…  Enzo wondered what people thought when they saw he and Matrix together – not that it had happened very often, the renegade had made sure of that – but of course, they were so different that a stranger would have had no idea they were the same code.  That sure wasn't the case with Bob.

"My two Bobs." Dot smiled.  "How are you feeling?"

"Never been better." Bob smiled.  Enzo's Bob, as he'd come to think of him.

"Well.  I suppose I've been worse." The other Bob – Glitch-Bob – said ruefully.  "Imagine my surprise when I woke up and saw _this_ ugly mug!"

"I don't _think_ so, Scarface."  Enzo couldn't help giggle at that.

Dot walked across to the bed and Enzo's eyes followed her.  Suddenly, he was nervous.  She hesitated, stroked Bob's hair with a smile, then bent and kissed Glitch-Bob on the forehead.  "How are you feeling, really?"

"I'm OK."  He cast a quick glance at Enzo.  "The transfusion seemed to do the trick for now.  I won't be stabilizing any web portals for a while, though."

"Here's hoping you don't need to!" Dot sighed.

"Was Phong able to figure anything out about Enzo?" Bob asked.

"Not really.  He doesn't see anything wrong with him, thank goodness.  He's going to study the scans of his icon and we're gonna keep an eye one him."

"Come on over here." Glitch-Bob smiled, beckoning to Enzo.  As the boy returned his smile and approached, he could see that the older man was sallow, thin in comparison to the younger.  He looked tired.  Of courser, that Bob always _had_ looked tired to Enzo – at least a little.  It was weird, how different he was, even though he was undeniably, just…  _Bob_. "Hey, Kid."

"Hey." Enzo slid onto the bed and the older Guardian grasped his hand in his clammy one.  "How you doing?"

"I'm OK.  Just tired.  How are you?"

"Kinda tired too."

"Tired?  Doesn't seen like Enzo to me!"  He grinned and squeezed the boy's hand.  "We got through everything though, huh?  That's what matters."

"Sure." Enzo smiled.  "I'm glad you're OK, Bob.  I was pretty worried."

"I'm fine." Glitch-Bob sighed.  "I'm sorry about Hex, Kiddo.  If there'd been any other way-"

"I know.  She wanted to do it, though.  She really did."

"Yeah…" he said softly, closing his eyes for a few nanos.  "Looks like she left you a little something to remember her by, huh?"

Enzo looked down at his chest.  "No one seems to know _what_ she did.  But I know she wouldn't hurt me."  He giggled.  "She could never eat a whole kid…"

"I know she'd never hurt you."  Glitch-Bob squinted and stared at Enzo's icon.  "Basic.  Well – it's pretty, anyways."  He looked up at Dot, then across at his younger clone.  "I should be out of here in a cycle or so.  Then-  Well…"

"Then _what_?" Bob frowned.

"Uh…"

"We'll find plenty to keep us busy." Dot sighed.  "Sometimes I'd give anything to be bored for a while…  But it seems like that's never gonna happen."

"Hey Scarface – mind if I take Enzo out of here?  I think he could use some circuit racing.  What say, Kid?"

"Sure – I guess."  He looked down at Glitch-Bob guiltily.  "I mean…"

"Go on." The older man smiled gently.  "Give me a few cycles to rest up and I'll beat both your ASCIIs."

"Bob!"

"Sorry, Dot – bitmaps."

"OK…" Enzo sighed.  In a flash, he realized Bob wanted Dot and his clone to be alone.  Maybe because _he'd_ been alone with her earlier.  It seemed fair, in a weird way…  He squeezed Glitch-Bob's hand.  "Get better, OK?  I'll come back and see you later."

"OK, Kiddo.  Thanks."

"You be careful, Enzo – you haven't been feeling well.  Bob, make sure he takes it easy, OK?"

"Sure Dot – no prob." Bob grinned.  "C'mon, Pal – duty calls.  We-"

            _WARNING – INCOMING GAME_

_            WARNING – INCOMING GAME_

"Oh, great!" Glitch-Bob scowled.

"I got it." Bob smiled.  "Just like old times."  A vidwindow popped open in front of them, Matrix face glowering out.

"Hey.  Who's in?"

"Me." Bob said.  "I'll meet ya there."  Matrix looked a bit uncomfortable for a nano, then nodded.

"Dot?  Can-"

"No!" she didn't even let Enzo finish his sentence before grabbing his arm.  "Not until we know what's up with that icon."

"But…  That could take microseconds! It could take a whole second!  Even longer!"

"Sorry, Pal – no time to discuss.  Next time." Bob sighed, and with a flash was zipping off.

"Sis, please?"

"_No_, Enzo!" she scowled.  "We don't know what's up with that icon – we don't even know for sure that you can reboot!  I can't risk allowing you in a game until we know exactly what you're dealing with."

"Great!  Crash it all…"

"Use your processor!  How would you win a game if you couldn't reboot?  You might not even be able to leave the game for all we know!  You could get stranded in there – is that what you want?"

Enzo felt a burning rage, starting from behind the eyes.  In a flash his weakness was a million spans away, the ache in his muscles gone.  "No – it's not what _I_ want…"

"Enzo!" Dot gasped.

"Never mind.  Fine.  Whatever."  The boy pulled his hand free from Glitch-Bob's and stormed out of the room.

"Enzo, stop it!"

"I'm fine!" he shouted back.  "I just need to go for a walk.  Bye."  She shouted at him again, and he heard Bob's weaker voice too, but the boy didn't stop.  He never broke stride until he was out of the M.U., out of the Principal Office, out in the bright warmth of the day and in the emptiness of a deserted sector.  He looked up balefully at the game cube, seeming to mock him from its purple depths, Matrix and Bob inside having fun.  Fun he was left out of.  

"Crash!" he snarled.  He looked around him.  With a start he realized he's walked all the way to G-Prime, and sweat was dripping from his forehead, stinging his eyes.  He looked up, expecting to see the Tor, before realization caught up with him.  With a sigh, he trudged off across the empty sector, glad to be alone.

"Crash.  Crash, crash, crash it all!"  Enzo felt his anger building inside him, lifting him.  It was exhilarating – his weakness was gone, he felt like he could snap Megabyte in half if he wanted to.  He wasn't a little sprite in that nano – he was a force, something no one could send to his room or tell what to do.  He'd do what he wanted, when he wanted.  No one was gonna stop him – least of all, Dot…

"Get away!"  A few nulls were skittering through the empty streets, their sickly squeaks unnerving as they slithered around him.  "Stupid nulls!  Why are you following me?"  He walked faster, but it was no good – they kept on his tail, relentless.  Were there more of them, or was he imagining it?  There was a rising heat behind his eyes, light-headedness.  Didn't the deleted things know he wanted to be alone?

"Get away!" he growled.  He felt that strange sense that he wasn't a boy, that he was a doorway – like in his dream, his exhilarating, scary dream.  He was blinded by a flash, deafened by a strange, gleeful laughter that he only vaguely recognized as coming from his throat.  When his sight returned the nulls were gone, dim specks on the horizon, disappearing.  He was breathing heavily, panting.

All at once, standing was too much of an effort.  His legs were weak, weaker than they'd been before.  He hurt all over, deep inside.  He was on his knees, he was on the ground.  Groaning softly, unable to even lift his throbbing  head.  And undeniably, completely alone.

  
  


  
  


  
  



	3. Chapter III (Original, huh?)

dgreenAnt Normal dgreenAnt 2 2 2001-11-08T18:27:00Z 2001-11-08T18:30:00Z 5 1703 9708 Epiphany 80 19 11922 9.4402 

COMING HOME

CHAPTER III

There was someone groaning.  It sounded close, too.  Enzo wished they'd shut up so he could sleep…  Why was someone else in his bedroom?  The boy opened his eyes for a fraction of a nano, then squeezed them shut again as the light sent searing pain through his head.  Dimly, he realized that he was the one doing the groaning.  

The memories came back then – he was in G-Prime.  The nulls, the light, the laughter…  What had happened?  "Crash!" he moaned, his voice echoing in his head.  "This… is…basic…"  The boy tried to stand, then almost immediately thought getter of it.  His neck felt like rubber – he didn't even want to know what his legs would feel like…With a great force of will he rolled onto his stomach and pushed himself onto his hands and knees, panting from the exertion.

The boy felt panic rising in him, a strangling presence in his throat.  Desperately he fought it down, trying to reason out what was happening to him.  Clearly it was very wrong, whatever it was.  Some kind of bug, it had to be…  Like the Melissa, when he was a kid.  That's why he was so weak.  But bugs didn't make you…  Do the things he'd done.  To the nulls, to the I-Mac in the junkyard. Did they?

Enzo felt his breathing begin to slow, gradually.  The pain in his head was still throbbing, crippling – but he tentatively tried to move, to shift his weight.  He managed to push his hands away from the ground but was unable to stand. Finally, the boy settled back on his bitmap with a groan and buried his head in his hands, trying to block out any noise or light.  He couldn't take any noise or light…

He sat motionless, each heartbeat thundering in his skull, sending shockwaves of pain down his arms and legs.  After a time there was a rustling on the ground around him, a slithering that broached his arms and assailed his ears.  He could hear them squeaking now – it didn't sound like a lot of them, but they were there.  "Leave me alone, please.  Please leave me alone…"

Another sound joined the skittering and squeaking; a kind of hum, almost like a zip board but quieter, lower in pitch.  "Yaaa!  Get away!"

"Stop shouting!" Enzo moaned.

There was an increase in the skittering and squeaking, then it slowly receded into the distance, not out earshot but more remote.  The boy felt a hand on his shoulder.  "Enzo?"

"Stop shouting, please…"

"Enzo!  What's wrong, Mate?  Eh?  What you doing out here?"

"R-Ray?"  

"Yeah, Kid.  What you doin' out here?  You OK?"

"Yeah." Enzo rasped.  He didn't know the blonde sprite well, but he found his accented, friendly voice comforting and familiar.  He ventured to open his eyes, just a crack.  "What…  What're you doing here?"

"Saw ya, Kid.  From up there."  The surfr pointed skyward.  "Doin' a system survey – saw you laid out like a gutted fish on the ground.  What happened?"

"I…  I don't know.  Where are the nulls?"

Ray crinkled his nose disgustedly and looked over Enzo's shoulder.  "Just over there, Mate.  Chased 'em away but they're hanging back, like.  Revolting buggers…"

"Thanks." Enzo whispered.

"No charge." The blonde sprite smiled tentatively.  "What's wrong, Lad?  You look like the wrong side of a dog!"

"N-nothing, I'm fine."  Enzo tried to push himself to his feet and fell back, hard.

Ray gently pushed down on his shoulders.  "Whoa!  Don't try and stand.  What's the story?  Did you wipe out and hit your head?  I don't see your zip board…"

"No." Enzo rasped.  "I…  I just need to rest a minute, OK?  I've just got a bug or something."

The surfr settled on his haunches next to him and draped a lanky arm around his shoulder.  "What are you doing in G-Prime, anyway?  If I hadn't seen you those nulls might've drained all your energy."

_Wouldn't take long_. Enzo thought glumly.  _Why are they following me around?_  "I was just takin' a walk and I…  Ended up out here I guess.  Thanks for…"

"No worries."  Ray smiled, but the concern was plain on his face.  "I don't like the looks o' you right now, Kid.  Think we better get you back to your sister ASAP-"

"No!" Enzo interrupted.  "Please, Ray – just lemme rest for a few nanos and I'll be fine, OK?  Don't tell Dot about this!"

"But-"

"_Please?"_

Ray frowned at him for a nano, then sighed.  "Can't resist that face…  But _why,_ Mate?  Why don't you want me to tell Dot?  If you're sick-"

"You don't know Dot.  If she knows I was out here she'll be mad.  And if she thinks I'm sick she won't let me leave the diner or play with Bob or go into games or anything else!"

"Only 'cause she's worried about you, Little Guy.  If you're sick you shouldn't be in games anyway-"

Enzo felt tears forming on his cheeks and tried to discreetly wipe them away.  "Just don't tell her, please.  Let me rest for a nano and I'll be fine, I promise."

"All right." The blond sprite sighed.  He ruffled Enzo's hair gently.  "It's OK, Mate.  No worries – I won't tell."

"Stay with me, all right?  Until…  Until I can go?"

"Yeah, promise."  Enzo lowered his head onto the surfr's shoulder and breathed deeply, trying to calm himself.  "What's wrong, Lad?  Where does it hurt?  Is it that bad?"

"No.  My head hurts a little, that's all."

"Right." Ray replied dubiously.  He squeezed the boy a little tighter and tousled his hair again.  "I won't tell your sister this time, Enzo – but you have to promise me you'll tell her yourself if this happens again.  And that you'll be careful – don't go into games if you're sick.  And no joy rides in empty sectors.  OK?"

"Yeah.  I promise."  Enzo swallowed a sob and let his weight fall against the surfr.  At that nano he'd have believed Ray could've wiped out Daemon's army himself, that's how happy he was the blonde sprite had showed up when he did.  "Thanks."

"Yeah, Mate.  Come on now – everything's gonna be fine.  Right?"

"Right."

"Good lad." Ray grinned.  "Just lay out for a few nanos – I'm not goin' anywhere so there's no rush.  You ever been surfing, Enzo?"

"Surfing?  No."  The boy perked up a little.  "Is it cool?"

Ray laughed.  "You bet your bitmap it is.  How'd you like to take a ride on my board?"

"Really?"

"Sure.  Want to?"

"Awesome!" Enzo grinned, wiping his eyes.  "All by myself?"

The surfr laughed again.  "No!  Not yet, Mate.  Gotta have a few lessons before you fly solo.  I was just gonna give you a lift back to the diner, if you want.  That 'd be a good plan, right?"

"Sure.  That'd be alphanumeric."

"Rock on." The blonde sprite smiled.  

"Can we just tell Dot you were giving me a surfing lesson?  In case she asks.  You won't have to carry me or anything, I'll be OK…"

"I guess."  Ray squinted at the boy, held his gaze.  "You made me a promise, Enzo – and we're mates now, right?"

"Yeah!  Definitely."

"Well – you wouldn't break a promise to a mate, would you?"

"No, I wouldn't.  Honest."  

"Mmmm.  OK, then."   Ray grinned and tweaked Enzo's nose.  Enzo dimly thought he might've been a little insulted under different circumstances, but he wasn't – he giggled.  "You're a good lad.  Think you can stand up?"

"I think so."  Enzo gritted his teeth and gathered his legs under him, still leaning most of his weight on the surfr.  With a grunt he swayed to his feet.  His legs felt like jelly under him, but his knees locked and he stood, forcing a grin.  "See?  I'm fine."

Ray shook his head and sighed.  "You're something else, Kid, you know that?  Maybe you should go see Phong about this."

"Already did.  He says I'm fine."

"You already did?  This has happened before?"

Enzo felt a rush of panic.  "No!  I mean – I've just been kinda tired for a couple cycles that's all and Dot took me to see Phong.  I wouldn't lie to you Ray, honest I wouldn't!"

"All right, all right Kid!  I'm just asking…"

"We're still mates, right?" Enzo panted.

"Yeah!  Still mates, Enzo – no worries.  Just remember your promise."

"I will.  Thanks." The boy smiled, wiping his eyes.

"Right, then.  All set?"

"Yeah."  Enzo noticed the surfboard hovering a few microns away for the first time.  "Double-sided!  That's your board?"

"Not half.  Best mode of transportation there is."  Ray grabbed Enzo under the shoulders and gently placed him atop the board, hopping on behind him.  "Hup!  Here we go.  Comfortable?"

"Yeah."

"Best seat in the house, right up front."  He securely wrapped one arm around the boy and the board gracefully lifted up from the ground.

Enzo looked down and frowned, seeing the small pack of nulls skittering towards the patch of ground where they'd been a few nanos before.  "Stupid nulls."

"Must be confused without Hex here, I guess.  Don't know where they're goin'.  You OK up there?"

"Yeah.  This is totally cool."   Enzo grinned down at the expanse of the city below them.  "Will you really teach me how to…  How to surf?"

"Don't see why not, Mate.  Let's just get you home for now though, right?"

"I guess.  Promise you won't tell Dot what happened?"

"You don't break promises to mates, Kid."  Enzo figured Ray was just about the coolest sprite that ever processed.  He _understood_!  Why didn't all the grown-ups understand?  "How's your brother?"

"Matrix?  Phong called him that, too.  Is everyone doing it?"

"I don't know what else I'd call him, Enzo.  'Twin' doesn't sound right.  I mean – look at the two of you!  Is he OK?  He looked a little shook up when I first got back."

"I think he's OK.  I haven't talked to him, really."

"He's a broody bugger." Ray said softly.  "Uh - No offense!"

"That's OK." Enzo smiled, and craned his neck so the surfr could see he wasn't insulted.  "I know I'm not…  Not him.  It's hard to explain but we're – we're different.  And that's cool."

"You sure are different." Ray grinned.  "He's a good bloke, Enzo – sometimes he tries his damndest to make you think he ain't, but he is.  Don't let him get you offline, all right?  He's just the way he is, and that's that.  He be all right for you when it counts."

"I know."

"Good lad, you're a good lad.  Looks like we're almost home."  The surfr began to guide them on a slow downward arc.  Enzo found himself not wanting to be home, not wanting the ride to end.  He wanted to be over the city, soaring above it, all of the nulls and the sisters and everything else far below him, out of reach, Ray's arm securely keeping him safe.  "Here we are.  Pay the driver on your way out."

The board hovered to a stop, and Enzo gingerly stepped to the ground.  He looked up at Ray and smiled.  "You gonna come in?  Dot has the best energy shakes in Mainframe!"

"I'd rather not." The blonde sprite frowned.  "Not mentioning something is one thing, but if I see her…  Are you all right to walk in on your own?"

"Yeah!  I'm fine, honest."

"Let me see you walk a couple steps."

"Jeez-"

"Go on, Mate."

Enzo sighed.  He took a few steps – slow, but determinedly keeping them steady – towards the diner, then turned and grinned.  "See?"

The surfr shook his head.  "All right, Enzo.  You remember your promise, all right?  I kept up my end of the deal."

"I will.  Thanks, Ray."

"No worries."

"Seriously!  Thanks a lot.  You're the best.  If you hadn't…"  
  


"Just lucky." Ray grinned.  "See you soon, right?  We'll get you that surfing lesson."  The blonde sprite waved and was airborne again, circling above Baudway for a nano before turning towards the Principal Office.

"Bye." Enzo called, watching him depart until he was a speck against the bulk of the P.O. dome.  With a sigh, the boy turned and walked, wincing, into the diner.  Relieved at not finding Dot at home, he wavered over the energy bars on the counter, decided against it and headed downstairs to the apartment.  In a few nanos he's kicked off his boots and crawled into bed, asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow.  
  
  


  
  


  
  



	4. Chapter IV

COMING HOME dgreenAnt Normal dgreenAnt 1 1 2001-11-09T17:38:00Z 2001-11-09T17:39:00Z 5 2113 12045 Epiphany 100 24 14792 9.4402 

COMING HOME

CHAPTER IV

"Hey."

"Hey!  Talk to me."

Enzo fought, clinging to sleep, not wanting to let it go, but it was no use.  The voice wasn't going away.  He tried to roll away from the sound, but there were hands on his shoulder.  "Talk to me, Enzo.  I'm starting to get worried now."

"Dot?"  

"Who else?  Come on, Baby – Talk to me.  It's time to wake up."

"All right…"  The boy yawned mightily and stretched, wincing as his muscles protested.  "Ow…"

"Asleep in the middle of the day again." Dot sighed.  "I just don't understand."

"I'm OK." Enzo mumbled.  "I was just tired – I went for a long walk after- after I left."

"Cecil said you came in before lunchtime and went straight into the apartment."

_Big mouth! _  " I dunno.  Maybe."  He yawned again.  "How's Bob?"

"Better.  He'll be going home tomorrow, Phong says."

"That'll be interesting."

"You're not kidding." Dot smiled ruefully.  She brushed the hair out of brother's eyes and cupped his chin.  "But we were talking about you, as I remember.  You slept all day and didn't eat lunch – and you barely touched your breakfast.  What am I supposed to think?"

"Phong said I was OK, didn't he?"

"Yeah he did, smart-guy – but he also said I was supposed to keep a close eye on you!  I suppose you want to skip dinner, too?"

Enzo _did_ – his stomach was edgy, and he just wanted to close his eyes and sleep forever – but he also wanted Dot's attention directed elsewhere.  "No – I'll come out and eat something.  Is it dinnertime?"

Dot laughed and shook her head.  "Yes, it's dinnertime.  Come on out and I'll make you something.  Or do you want to go upstairs?"

"No – the kitchen's fine.  Thanks."

"OK." She smiled, giving him a long look as he sat up, cross-legged, and scratched his head.  She turned for the door.  "I'll put something on for you.  See you in a micro."

"Dot, wait."

She turned back.  "Hmmm?"

Enzo sighed and stared at his lap.  "Well…"

"What is it, Enzo?"

"Nothing…  Just – I'm sorry.  About before.  Sorry I yelled at you at the P.O."

"Sweetie, that's OK-"

"Sorry." The boy repeated, still not looking up.  "I was pretty basic.  You don't need to worry about me, OK?  I'm fine."

"Not worry?   I don't _think_ so."  She was next to him, on the bed, kissing his cheek.  "And I'm sorry you're not feeling well.  We'll get you through it, OK?"

"Yeah."

"Angel."  She hugged him hard, causing him to grimace.  Fortunately she didn't notice.  "Come on out of here and eat something now.  We'll watch a vidscreen or something and you'll feel better."

"Cool." He sighed, wishing more than anything he could just go back to sleep...  

It was time to talk to Matrix.

Enzo had picked at a plate of food, Dot's Astro-chicken parmigiana.  It was good, like always – but he hadn't been able to force down more than a few bites.  She sat with him on the couch for a while, trying to get him interested in a basketball game – something she never would have chosen to watch on her own in a million minutes, he knew.   The boy didn't even remember getting into bed – clearly he'd fallen asleep and she'd carried him, embarrassing in it's own right.

After she'd rousted him out of bed (no small effort) in the morning, he'd dragged himself to the breakfast and listlessly sipped applet juice, feeling Dot's eyes on him the whole time.  She'd smile every time he caught her staring, but he could sense the worry in her gaze.  She thought he was really sick.  And there was something else in her expression too, something he knew but couldn't place – something strange, out of context.  The boy had the strange feeling he'd recognize it if he only saw it where he would expect to – but where was that?

"I suppose we should be thinking about school." She sighed, absently stirring her java.

"Aw Sis…"

"Well – the net doesn't stop processing for our problems, Kiddo.  School's been back since D-Day.  You really should be there…"

"Don't make me go!" Enzo pleaded.  He was sure he could never stay awake through a whole school day, not even close – and that would inevitably lead to embarrassment.  And there was so much stuff on his processor anyways…

Dot sighed again and stroked his forehead softly with her index finger.  "I really don't want to send you – not like you are now.  I'd worry all cycle.  I think I'll take you to the P.O. with me so I can keep an eye on you."

"The P.O.?  OK, I guess."  At least it wasn't school…

"We'll try and keep you from getting too bored." She smiled.  "I'll bring some pillows and blankets and we can set you up in my office if you get tired."

"D'you think Matrix will be there?"

"Matrix?  Oh Honey, I don't think it would be a good idea for you to see Matrix right now."

"Why?" Enzo protested.  "He's my brother!"

His sister raised an eyebrow.  "Your…  Maybe he is, Enzo.  But I don't want you getting upset right now.  You've been getting upset a lot lately and it's not good for you."

"Why would I get upset?  I just wanna talk to him!"

"I know.  But he…"  Enzo could see the strain on Dot's face as she struggled for the words she thought would protect his feelings.  "He's been under a lot of pressure.  He was infected and everything-"

"So were you!"

"Honey-"

"Dot, I really wanna talk to him.  He's hardly talked to me since the reboot.  Please?"

"We'll see." She sighed wearily.  "We'll just play it by ear, OK?"  She tweaked his ear and smiled as she said it.

"Whatever."  So they'd gone to the P.O., and Enzo was as sure as anything that it was time to talk to Matrix.  Matrix could help him if anyone could – Matrix knew everything about him!  Everyone else was scared of the big sprite, seemed like.  But not Enzo.  Well, maybe just a little…

The boy was more sure than ever that something really weird was happening to him.  If Dot knew what had happened at Mister Pearson's, in G-Prime…  But she couldn't know – not ever.  He wouldn't tell Matrix either – not about that.  But about the other stuff – the headaches and the weakness and being sleepy all the time.  Maybe the same the same thing had happened to him!  Maybe it was all part of that "growing up" process he was always hearing about but never seemed to really happen to him, not fast enough anyway.  Maybe it was just a normal thing, Matrix would know.  If he didn't, who would?

He'd slipped away from Dot the first chance he got, when she became engrossed in a report on the status of the security forces after the Daemon fight.  He thought about looking for Bob – Glitch-Bob – but figured he'd better find Matrix before Dot found _him_.  He ran into Specky in the hallway outside the war room.  "Hey – do you know where my brother is?"  The little one binome frowned in puzzlement.  "Matrix!"

"Oh!  He and AndrAIa are at the armory I believe.  Doing an inventory of CPUs and other weapons stocks.  After the Guardian army slipped through the portal we were forced to-"

"Thanks!" Enzo sighed.  That guy could bore anybody…  It wasn't a long walk to the armory, but Enzo had to stop on more than one occasion and rest, hands on his knees.  He was even weaker than yesterday – he was sure of it.  _Use your zip board, Stupid_!  The inspiration, like most of his good ideas, came too late to do him any good.  His processor was almost as out of it as his body…

The big, bearded sprite was standing amidst the stacks of ammunition, CPU parts, hand-held weapons.  He was lazily tapping on a keypad as he strolled the stacks.  "Hey." Enzo called out from behind him.

Matrix turned, his hand half-reaching reflexively for gun.  He relaxed when he saw Enzo, then stiffened again.  "Hey.  Didn't hear you coming.  Since when are you so quiet?"

"Dunno." The boy shrugged, eyes on his feet, taking a few weary, aching steps towards the renegade.  "How you doing?"

"I'm OK, I guess.  Word is you're a little under the weather."

"Who told you that?"

"Dot, dummy!  Who do you think?  So – what's wrong with you?  You OK?"

Enzo bristled, tried to remember what Ray had said.  He looked up finally to see Matrix staring back at him, silently.  But not at his face.  The big sprite's eyes were focused at chest level.  "What're you staring at?"

"Nothing." Matrix muttered guiltily, and looked away.  Enzo was sure he'd seen the same look in Matrix' eyes that he had in Dot's – the same wrongness.  What _was_ it?  

The boy gingerly walked up and stood next to Matrix, this time the look on the big sprite's face unmistakable surprise and concern.  "Jeez, Kid – you look like Old Man Pearson!"  

"Thanks a lot." Enzo muttered, leaning against an exoskeleton.  

"What in the net is wrong with you?"

"I dunno." The boy sighed.  "I was hoping you could tell me."

"_Me_?  Seems like you'd wanna talk to Phong about that, Kid – I'm no medical program-"

"I know.  But you're _me_.  Aren't you?"

Matrix bristled for a nano, visibly controlled himself.  "In a way. Yes.  But I still don't understand.  Dot said Phong already checked you out-"

"He did.  But he didn't really find anything.  Dot's really worried and I was thinking maybe the same thing happened to you, or something."

"Me?"  The bearded sprite frowned.  "What exactly is going on?  Where does it hurt?"

"All over." The boy sighed, momentarily allowing his expression to reveal more than he wanted.  "I mean – not much.  Just…sore.  You know.  And I'm tired.  And I feel weak all the time."

"Should be used to _that_." Matrix said in a low voice.  Enzo stiffened, glared at him.  The big sprite's face softened.  "Sorry.  I'm sorry.  I didn't mean anything…"

Enzo straightened up, feeling a surge of energy for a nano.  "Thanks a lot."

"I said I was sorry, Kid.  I'm just joking around.  You…  You did really good.  Against Daemon.  We wouldn't have won it if you hadn't."  The big sprite awkwardly patted him on the shoulder.

"Thanks." Enzo sighed, weariness settling over his body again like data filling in the empty spaces where his energy had been.  "But I'm pretty scared about what's going on."

"I don't know what's going on, Enzo.  You should really be talking to Phong."

"So…    Something like this never happened to you?  It's not normal?"

"Normal?  What do you mean?"

"I dunno." Enzo muttered.  "I thought maybe it was some kind of growing up thing, a stage or something…"

"You talking about puberty, Kid?" An amused smile.  Enzo felt his ears turn red.  "I don't think so.  You're not there for a while yet, if I remember right – and besides, it wouldn't be normal for you to hurt all over like you're talking about.  And be weak – that doesn't sound right.  Plenty of other basic stuff, but not that."

"Crash it all!  So what's wrong with me, then?"  Enzo felt himself starting to be afraid, but he fought it down – there was no _way_ he was crying in front of his brother.

Matrix looked over at him, again not in the eyes, but in the chest.  "I'm no med unit, but it seems pretty obvious to me what's wrong."

"No!" Enzo scowled.  "It's not my icon.  Hex wouldn't hurt me."

"Kid-"

"My name is Enzo!"

Matrix gritted his teeth, controlling himself again.  Enzo felt a sense that he was playing a dangerous game, seeing how close he could get to a cliff's edge before it gave way and sent him tumbling to the rocks below.  "Enzo.  You were feeling fine a few cycles ago, weren't you?"

"Yeah…"

"Well – you do the math, K-… Enzo.  Hex did something to your icon and ever since, you feel sick.  It doesn't take a genius like Phong to figure out what the problem is."

"No!  She did something to your icon too, didn't she?  And you seem OK."

"Well…"

"Well, what?  What did she do to _you_?"

"She didn't really do anything to me.  We think she just took some of my Guardian codes so she could spread them through the net when she fragmented.  So it's not the same, is it?"

"But – why would she hurt _me_, then?"  Enzo felt a triumphant swell at his logical victory.  "Why would she hurt me – she _liked_ me!  She didn't hurt you and she didn't even like you."

"The feeling was mutual, believe me."

"So? I told you – she'd never hurt me. Why would she?"

"Because she was a _virus_, Kid!" Matrix snarled.  "Don't you get it?  She was a damn virus – and viruses can't be trusted.  We never should have giver her a PID in the first place."

"But she saved the net!"

"Yeah, well – I still have my doubts about that "cure".  You don't understand anything, Enzo – you're a little kid.  She might have made you laugh but she didn't really care about you.  She was nuts."

"She _did_ care."  Enzo felt a catch in his voice, hated it.  "She was right about you – you _are_ a virus-hater."

"You would be too, if you had any sense!"  Matrix spat.  "Did you forget about Daemon?  About Megabyte?"

"She wasn't like them!"

"They're _all the same!_"  The bearded sprite enunciated the words slowly, veritably shouting them.  His eyes darted quickly down to Enzo's chest.  "User, Kid – don't you know how much danger you could be in?  This isn't a game!  You think I want to see something bad happen to you?  I don't!"

"You're wrong.  It's something else, it has to be…"

"Crash!  You're still just a stupid kid, like always.  I thought after Daemon maybe you'd grown out of it, but-"

"Shut up!"  Enzo wasn't feeling weak anymore, all of a sudden.  "Just shut your fat face!"

Matrix seemed taken aback by the sudden authority in Enzo's voice.  "I don't really care what you think of me, Enzo.  But I don't want anything bad to happen to you, whether you believe it or not.  You can think what you want."  The big sprite grabbed his data pad and headed briskly for the door.

"Matrix!" Enzo shouted after him.  The big sprite didn't turn.  "Crash!  Crash it all!"  He was alone in the armory, his voice echoing off the high ceiling and the distant walls.  He felt a preternatural strength in his muscles, like he could push off the ground and go so high that he'd never come down.  "No!  Not again…"

His world was lost in swirling light and heat, a burning behind his eyes, harder to control than before.  He felt like he was a sheet of flame, light as air, floating about and burning whatever he touched.  He was vaguely aware of sounds – boxes crashing, metal screeching on metal, a voice- his voice.  Footsteps reverberating in the cavernous room.  It could all have lasted for a nano or an hour, he wasn't sure and didn't even want to know.  And when is was over, there was only silence – silence and heat.  The heat wasn't going away, he was burning now, not the flame but just a boy being burned by it.  And AndrAIa's face, full of alarm, staring down at him.  Or had he dreamed her?  It wouldn't have been the first time…

  
  



	5. Chapter V

COMING HOME Dan Green Dan Green 2 6 2001-11-10T04:42:00Z 2001-11-10T04:57:00Z 3 1256 7161 59 14 8794 9.2720 0 0 

COMING HOME

CHAPTER V

Author's note:  Some of you may be aware that I agonized a bit over whether or not to finish this fic – after all, with Mainframe dishing out a new orthodoxy every week – 11/9 being no exception – anything I wrote was bound to be blown out of the water.  In the end, though, I decided to finish it.  What fanfic is all about  - or should be – is doing stuff the show can't.  This is the post "Sacrifice" Mainframe I envisioned, and it may not be "canon" anymore but so what?  It's my own version of it and I never claimed it was anything else – so why stop now?  

You've been warned…

Pain.

User, it hurt.  It hurt so bad Enzo was sure there would have been tears rushing down his face if he could've _made_ tears.  But he was pretty sure he couldn't – his head felt hot, like an oven, baking his processor like a loaf of bread.  There was no way any tears would survive in there, they'd evaporate in a nano.

He tried to groan – anything to express how much he hurt – but he couldn't even do that, his throat was as dry as his eyes.  His voice was burned away.  There was a sound in his ears like data waves crashing into the beach but from far, far away he heard voices – faint voices.  And a touch on his hands, a cold touch.  The coldness of the touch seemed to revive him, to focus him – he drew towards it, and the pounding in his ears began to lessen, and the voices grew clearer.  They were still soft, barely above whispers, but they were closer.

"I think he's awake."  Bob.  Not Bob.

"Enzo?"  Can you hear me?"  Soft, musical.

He tried to speak, could feel his lips move, his throat muscles expand and contract, but nothing came out.  "Are you thirsty?  Do you want a drink?"  _Yes_!  Yes, oh how badly he wanted a drink - data, applet juice…  He panicked – what if he couldn't tell them how thirsty he was?  What if they didn't understand, he couldn't talk…  His lips moved faster but still, his ears registered nothing.  "Shhh!  It's all right."  He was being lifted, slowly, carefully.  He was in a sitting position.  There was a glass at his lips, moisture trickling across his tongue.  He coughed and sputtered mightily as the liquid danced down his throat.

"All right, take it easy."  The not-Bob voice again.  Glitch-Bob.  That's who it was.  Wasn't he sick?  Enzo opened his eyes, winced as his pupils dilated.  Heard himself panting from his coughing fit.  There was Bob – sitting next to his bed, smiling gently.  There was the long hair, the web scars – but it was Bob.  "Hey Kiddo.  You left us there for a while."

The boy gestured feebly for more to drink – he assumed it was plain data, though for all he could guess his taste buds might be fried anyway – and Bob gingerly tipped another sip into his mouth.  Enzo began to feel his panic receding, just a little.  "Bob…"

"Don't try and talk, Enzo.  Chill for a few nanos."

Enzo nodded, almost imperceptibly.  Talking _did_ seem like an awful lot of work.  There was something odd, though he couldn't put his finger on it immediately.  Then it broke through the fuzzy cloud surrounding his brain – Bob was sitting on his right, but someone was holding his left hand.  He lazily rolled his head over on the pillow, every movement sending sharp pain down his neck.  "Hey, Sparky."

AndrAIa.  He smiled, just a little.  He couldn't help himself.  "Hey."  He had a sickly thought.  AndrAIa!  Had she seen him?  How much did she know?

The game sprite saw the sudden panic on his face.  "Don't worry – you'll be just fine.  We're taking good care of you."

Enzo nodded again, closed his eyes.  He'd been wrong at first – he wasn't in his bed, he was in a strange one - _must be the P.O._  Under his blanket he was clad in sweat-soaked pajamas.  "Where…  Where is Dot?"

"She's with me and Phong." Glitch-Bob said.  "They're looking over your test results.  Don't worry – she'll be back soon."

"K."  User, it was so hot!  He opened his eyes again, looked at AndrAIa's gently smiling face and turned to look at Bob.  There was something, something different in the way they looked at him.  Different from Dot, Matrix…  "Can…  You guys move closer?  It's too hard to turn… my neck."

"Sure." AndrAIa replied.

She swung around to Enzo's right and sat on the bed near Bob's chair.  Now he could rest his head on the pillow and see them both at once.  It was a small victory.  "Thanks."

"Don't talk so much." AndrAIa picked up a damp cloth and dabbed cool data on his face and neck.  "You have a little fever, I think.  Phong gave you something for it, so don't worry."

The data felt wonderful, like sheer heaven. "How long was I asleep?"

"A few seconds.  It's almost thirty-hundred."

"Jeez…"  That was longer than he'd slept after the last time, or the time before.  User, he wanted to ask AndrAIa – ask her if she knew.  If she'd seen.  But how _could_ he ask?  If she hadn't seen – if he'd imagined seeing her face…

"You made quite a mess, you know." Bob said amicably.

Enzo's heart fell.  "W-What?"

Bob laughed softly.  There wasn't a trace of anything in his expression but affection and worry – his _or_ AndrAIa's.  "You did a little redecorating in the armory, Pal – not exactly the style I'd have chosen, but it was interesting."

"Oh User, no…"

"Shhh." AndrAIa soothed.  "It's OK, Sparky.  No one's mad at you.  Everything's just fine – you didn't really damage anything anyway.  Just threw a few boxes around."

"And blew a few holes in a few walls." Bob chuckled.

"Nooo."  Enzo moaned softly.  "I… I did that?"

"Hush, now."  AndrAIa bent and kissed him on the forehead, her lips cool against his burning skin.  "Don't upset yourself.  We're trying to understand what's happening, and we'll figure it out.  No one's angry, I promise.  Don't worry about anything."

"Yeah, Kiddo."  Bob clasped the boy's hand in both of his.  "You're having some kind of reaction to your new icon, that's all.  We'll get you through it."

There were too many thoughts, too many feelings.  "Did…  Did you see it happen?"

"Yeah I did, Sweetie – well, the tail end, anyways." AndrAIa whispered.  "It was kinda cool, actually!"

"But-"

"No 'buts'.  Just settle down and rest.  You can't be getting yourself worked up."

"Bob, am…  Am I a virus now?"

"No, Enzo.  We're not sure exactly what happened, but you're definitely not a virus.  Trust us – we'll get it all sorted out."

"Crash…" Enzo sighed.  How could Matrix have been right?  How could Hex have done something that would make him sick?  It didn't make sense!  She _liked_ him – he knew she did.  She liked Bob too…  "Bob!  You're better?"

"Yeah!  I'm all right.  Never felt better."

"Really?"

"Yeah.  Thanks for asking."  The Guardian winked and tousled Enzo's damp hair, just as the door to his room opened.  Matrix walked in, followed by Dot and Phong. "Look who's up, Dot."

"He's awake?" Dot breathed.  In a flash she was by his bed, and AndrAIa slid away to make room for her.  She held his head against her breast gently, almost gingerly.  "My poor angel…  How are you feeling?"

"Not too good." Enzo rasped.  

"Sweetie… It'll be all right."  Enzo sighed as she smoothed his damp hair and kissed his head.  No one could make him feel safe like she could.  "I'm here now.  Everything's gonna be just fine."

"Dot…  I'm scared.  I don't understand what's happening to me."

"We'll find out, I promise.  Mouse is helping Bob and Phong - you know how smart they are.  They'll get to the bottom of everything, you'll see."

"Dot, I… I did something bad…"  Enzo felt her body stiffen.  "I did something bad.  I didn't mean to…"

"I know, Enzo.  I know you didn't.  Just hush now and don't talk."

"I believe you need to rest, Child."  It was Phong.  He wheeled to Enzo's beside and grasped his wrist in his left hand.  "It is nice to visit wit friends and family – it heals the spirit.  But right now you need sleep more than anything – your body is weak and feverish."  He lifted a small infuser in his right hand.

Enzo weakly tried to pull away.  "What's that?"

"It will help you sleep, Child.  I'm just going to upload it into your arm – you will feel no discomfort, I promise."

"No…"

"Shhh.  It's all right Sweetie.  You need to rest – I'll be here when you wake up – don't worry."

"Don't…"

"I am all done, Young Guardian." Phong smiled.  "That was not so bad, was it?  Sleep now Child, sleep."

"Dot…"  Enzo could already feel a fogginess descending on his brain, but the sensation of burning was fading, too, so it wasn't so bad.  He fluttered his eyelids, saw Dot and Bob, AndrAIa and Matrix surrounding his bed.  All their faces, staring down at him.  Sleep was coming fast but his processor tried to cling to consciousness – there was something important in their faces, something….  Something important, he'd been thinking about it.

Keeping his eyes open was just too much of an effort.  Too much effort…  He took one last look at them and closed his eyes, reassuring darkness.  Before sleep claimed him he realized what it was, what he'd been seeing that bothered him.  It was something he saw in their faces, Dot and Matrix, not the others.  Their faces as they looked at him, it'd been there since D-Day and now that he knew what it was it seemed painfully obvious, even as he surrendered to sleep.

Fear.  
  


  
  


  
  



	6. Chapter VI

COMING HOME Dan Green Dan Green 1 1 2001-11-11T07:27:00Z 2001-11-11T07:28:00Z 9 3512 20021 166 40 24587 9.2720 0 0 

COMING HOME

CHAPTER VI

Time.

It had become a meaningless concept to Enzo.  He was in bed – he was sweating, his head was burning.  He hurt.  He slept a lot, most of the time really.  Only occasionally would he slip from fever dreams into full consciousness.  In those moments he was never alone – there was always someone in his room, sitting by his bedside, reading or napping.  Sometimes there was more than one sprite, and they would talk, always in low voices.  When they saw his eyes flutter open they would always smile, but the smiles never hid the worry in their faces.  There was always worry, no matter who the smile belonged to.  Sometimes there was fear, as well.

This time there were voices, softly conversing voices.  Comforting and familiar.  Bob and Glitch-Bob.  It might have been day or night, Enzo didn't know – there were no windows in his room.  Only voices.  He wanted to join his voice to them, to prove to himself that he was still processing, that he wasn't a ghost.  But he had to work himself up to it, slowly…

"What will you tell her?"

"I don't know.  I don't think I _will_ tell her.  I mean, she knows there are problems, but she's got enough on her mind already-"

"Tough to put one over on Dot."

"Tell me about it!"

"Well…  I hope it works.  Since you're the first guy who ever merged in the first place, I sincerely doubt it's ever been tried."

"Phong thinks we have a good chance."

"What…  What-"

"Hey!  Look who's up." Bob smiled.  "Sorry we were talking so loud."

"It's OK.  I was up anyways."  Enzo coughed, his throat raw and burning.  Glitch-Bob held a glass of data to his mouth and he choked down a sip.  "Thanks."

"No charge."

"What were…you guys talking about?"  He'd already forgotten most of what they said, he couldn't remember anything lately.  It had sounded pretty scary…

"Nothing, Kiddo." Bob answered.  "How you feeling?"

"Same." Enzo rasped.  He lazily turned his head to look at Glitch-Bob.  "You…  You said…"

"You need to get your bitmap out of here soon.  I still owe you two a beating at jetball, remember?  This place sucks."

"Yeah!" Enzo giggled.  It felt strange to laugh.  "Maybe I'll never go home.  Maybe-"

"I don't think so!" Glitch-Bob scowled.  "You've got Matrix code in you.  You'll beat this thing, no problem."

"Yeah, Enzo – no contest."

"I guess." The boy sighed.  Seeing Glitch-Bob's face gave him the urge to talk, to share himself.  "Bob…  Thanks for what you said.  When that game cube came."

"What?"  A puzzled frown.

"You know.  When Dot…"

"Enzo-"

"You wanted me to stay.  You didn't think I should go…"

"Well – no, I didn't."  The Guardian absently tousled Enzo's hair.  "But Dot didn't want you to go either, you know.  She was only doing what she needed to do to save you."

"Whatever."  Enzo sighed again, closed his eyes.  "Thanks for wanting me to stay."  That was as much as had to give – he felt unconsciousness creeping up on him again.

"Don't blame her, Enzo.  She's already done enough of that to last a lifetime…"  

"Bob…"

"It'll be all right."  Everything else was lost in a haze of weariness.

"He'll be all right, Pretty Lady – he's a strong one."

New voices.  Dot and Ray.  "I know.  Thank you.  And thanks for coming to see him."

"Nothing to it.  I like the little bloke – he's got a lot of fire to him.  And it'd not like I could be much help in _there_, y'know?  With the big brains."

Enzo wanted to open his eyes, to talk to Ray, but it was too much effort.  He concentrated on the sound of their voices, used it to keep him in the waking world for a few nanos, anyway.  "I guess we're keeping your girlfriend pretty busy."

"Yeah." An easy chuckle.  "She's a smart one, my Mouse.  Between Phong and her they'll sort Enzo and Bob out, no worries."

"I hope so."  A hand, Dot's hand, gently covering his own.

"Yeah."  A nano of silence, awkward – even Enzo in his muddled state could sense it.  "Listen, Dot – I've been wanting to tell you something…  I think you might not be so glad to have me about after I tell you."

""What is it?"

"Well – Listen, there didn't seem any harm in it at the time or I'd never have-"

"Just tell me, Ray.  You haven't got a malicious character in your code, I know that.  Whatever it is-"

"It's just that, well…  The nipper – a couple of cycles ago I was on a system survey and I saw him in G-Prime, just sort of sitting there.  On the ground.  So I surfed on down to see what was up and he was feeling sick – his head was hurting.  I stayed with him and he seemed to get better after a few micros, seemed like it anyways.  The thing is, he begged me not to tell you – said you'd never let him out of the diner again, some such.  I know you think I'm a right bugger for not telling you-"

"Ray-"

"I'm sorry, Dot.  I had no idea any of this was going on – I just thought he had a little bug or something, like kids get.  It sounds daft now but I really didn't see the harm in it, I really didn't.  I made him promise to be careful and tell you if it happened again, and I took him home.  He begged me not to tell you, you know how kids are…"

"Did he make the face?"

A surprised chuckle.  "Uh… Yeah.  He did at that, Pretty Lady.  And now he's in here and me with my stupid promises.  If I'd told you-"

"Please, don't."  His sister's voice was weary, kind.  "My little brother can be a very persuasive sprite, Ray – believe me, I know.  I don't think it'd have made any difference – I knew there was something wrong with him anyway.  I took him to see Phong as it was-"

"Yeah – he told me."

"Of course, none of us knew about the…  About the other thing.  If we'd known that – who knows.  I wouldn't have let him out of my sight, that's for sure."

"Yeah.  I'm sorry, Pretty Lady.  If anything happens to the little bloke-"

"Don't be sorry.  And thank you for helping him – he gets himself into these situations, always needs someone to help him get out!  It's just how Enzo is, Ray.  I don't think for a nano you did anything wrong."

"Well…  That's decent of you to say, Dot.  Listen – I know he'll be fine.  He's a tough kid and he's got the right sprites in his corner.  He'll get through all this, no worries."

"I know." Enzo could hear the doubt in his sister's voice, even as his alertness began to flag.

"I'm gonna go – see if they need anything over in diagnostics.  They're keeping late nights at the nano."  Enzo felt a big grip clasp his free hand, Dot's palm still covering the other.  "You get better, Mate.  No excuses.  I'll be back soon."  

_Be back soon_.  The words echoes in Enzo's processor as he slipped away to sleep.

The next time he woke it wasn't the dim half-waking fog he'd been used to, but rather something more defined, more recognizably awake.  There'd been a dream, a vivid dream.  Dot had been in the dream – strangely distant, why?  She was running, that was why…  Running away from him, even as he told here to stop.  Begged her to stop, but she wouldn't.  She ran through the diner, through the kitchen into their apartment.  He followed, vainly calling out to her.  When he was inside he couldn't see her and foundered about for a nano, confused.  Then he heard it – the soft crying, coming from his bedroom.  He followed the sound, found the door locked.  With one easy shove he smashed it off its hinges, sent it tumbling into the bedroom.  She was there, cowering in a corner, hugging her knees.  Why?  Why was she doing this?  He called her name again, but she only whined more loudly and hid her face.  He took a stride towards her, passing his dresser, the one with the small mirror on it, the one she'd bought him so he wouldn't forget to comb his hair before he left for school.  He glanced over at it as he passed, and saw a flash of blue armor and golden claws.  With a roar, his arm flew out and smashed the mirror into a million pieces…

The impact had jolted him awake, pushing him roughly through the muddled half-alert zone and into consciousness.  He was panting, trying to draw air into his lungs.  He was as awake as he could imagine being, every sense alert, almost painfully so.  He snapped his eyes open, surveyed the room.  It was just Dot this time, sitting at his bedside in an uncomfortable looking chair.  His choked down a sob as his eyes met hers.  "What's wrong, Enzo?  Are you in pain?"

Enzo gritted his teeth and closed his eyes, amazed that they could still generate the tears that rolled down his cheeks.  "Crash…"

"You were having a nightmare."  Her voice was tremulous.  "Are you all right?"

"Crash!  Crash it all."  He could feel the fire building inside him, the energy flowing though his body.  He'd been weak for so long, so tired…  User, it felt so good!  "No!  No…"

"Enzo, what's wrong?  Talk to me."

"No, no, no!  Please, no!"  The power, the strength – it felt so good!  No more pain, no more weakness…  "No!"

"Enzo!"

He opened his eyes, stared at her, panting.  She was half-standing from her chair, indecisive.  There was fear in her eyes.  "Dot…"  He gritted his teeth as he felt the fire building behind his eyes, coming close to the surface….

"I'll go get…  I'll go get Phong…"

"No!" the boy moaned, shut his eyes tight.  "Stop, stop…  Please…  Not again, please!"

The bed sagged under him and there were hands around him, gingerly.  "Enzo, please-"

"Dot…"

Suddenly, the grip was no longer gentle but tight, like a vice.  "Hold me.  Hold me, Enzo."

"Dot, no-"

"Hold me this nano!"  There was authority, assuredness in her voice.  "Grab me tight and hold on, Enzo.  You hear me?  Right this nano!"  Enzo blindly shot his arms out, wrapped them around the solidity of his sister's frame.  "Tighter than that, Enzo.  Hold me tighter."

Enzo cried out as he felt the fire start to burn him, demanding to be released.  He squeezed with his arms as tight as he could, and the arms surrounding him did the same.  "Dot!  I can't, I can't…"

"Just hold on tight." The voice was soft now, calm.  "I'm right here Enzo.  Can you feel me?  I'm right here.  Just hold on to me and everything will be all right, I promise."

"I…  feel you."  The fire was in him, through him, every drop of code suffused with it.  Waves of pain shot down his arms, his fingertips, such terrible pain.  He clenched his arms even tighter, impossibly tight, clamping down on the pain.  "Oh, User…"

"Hold on tight.  Don't you let go!  Just hold on tight, that's it, keep holding on…"

"I'm…  trying!"  He could feel the sweat pouring off his face in rivulets, down his neck, his back, his chest.  Was the fire beginning to recede – just a little?  Was he imagining it?

"That's it.  That's a good boy.  You're doing great, Enzo.  Just keep holding on, tight as you can.  Can you do that?"

"Yes."  He could – he could do it.  The waves of pain, the burning – they were slowly ebbing, now just a sharp stabbing reminder of their apex nanos earlier.  "Dot…"

"I'm right here."

The boy groaned, weariness rushing in to fill the empty places in his body.  And there were many – the boy felt totally drained, a husk.  His arms went limp and he would have fallen back to the bed if Dot's arms had done the same.  

There were no dreams, this time – just a black emptiness devoid of any sense of feeling.  When Enzo woke it was a shock to his system, unused to any sensory input whatsoever.  Every muscle in his body ached, even to the very tips of his toes.  He moaned softly and opened his eyes to see Dot, back in her chair at the side of his bed.  Her face was weary, haggard – black circles of sleeplessness had formed under her eyes.  She eyed him warily for a nano, then relaxed at the absence of any signs he was having another attack.  Her hand crawled onto the bed, closed over his.  "Enzo."

"How…  How long was I…"

"Not too long this time.  How are you feeling?"

"Bad."  He met her eyes for a nano before lowering his gaze, feeling tears begin to trickle down his cheek.  

"Phong gave you something for your fever – it'll help the pain, too-"

"It's not that!" he sighed.  He swallowed a sob, his throat burning.

"Enzo…  Everything will be all right-"

"No.  No it won't."  He was sure of it, sure as he'd ever been of anything.  "Bet you wish I'd stayed in that game cube _now_, huh?"

"_What_?  What in the net-"

"You do!"  He was crying now, unable to stop himself.  "You're scared of me.  I know you are."

"Honey…  Please don't-"

"Don't…  Don't say you're not.  I know you are.  Matrix too."

"I'm scared _for_ you!" Dot protested.  "Enzo, I could never be scared of you…"

"No."  The boy wanted to wipe his eyes but even lifting his arm to do it seemed like an impossible task.  "You were right…  About Hex.  And she d-did something to me.  Made me…  Made me…"

"Stop this now.  Just stop."  She was on the bed, holding his head to her shoulder.  "You're just being a silly boy now, that's all.  Just silly.  How could I ever be afraid of you?  You're my angel, my little boy-"

"Stop.  Please."

"No I won't.  We don't know what Hex did to your icon but you're still my little brother – that's all.  That's all there is to it."

The boy wiped his eyes on her shoulder.  "You think I'm…  Like _her_."

"No I don't.  You're my little brother.  My Enzo – nobody else.  Stop this now, you can't upset yourself like this Sweetie.  You just can't."  Enzo, face buried in his sister's shoulder, heard the door open.

An accented voice.  "Sugar, we think we've… Oh – s'cuse me, I didn't know-"

"Mouse." Dot sighed.  Enzo wriggled free of her, fell back against his pillows and closed his eyes, catching a brief glimpse of Phong and both Bobs before he did.   It was bad – _very_ bad.

"My Child – perhaps you could join us?  There are issues we need to discuss.  I am sure Bob could stay with-"

"No!" Enzo rasped.  "Tell me.  Don't leave, please…"

"Child-"

"I want to know, Phong.  Please… just tell me, OK?"

"Enzo, come on now.  You're tired, you're barely awake – this isn't the right way to-"

"Make them, stay, Dot!"  Enzo opened his eyes, pleading.  "Make them tell me what's wrong.  Please, Dot…"

"The face." Dot sighed.  Her own face seemed to melt for a fraction of a nano, poised to break down in a wash of emotion.  Just as quickly she was composed, calm.  "Just tell us, Phong."

"Are you certain, Child?"

"No.  But just do it."

"Very well."  Phong wheeled into the room, positioning himself at the head of the bed.  Mouse planted herself at Dot's shoulder, giving Enzo a brief, tired smile.  Bob and Glitch-Bob hovered near the door.  "If you insist.  Mouse?"

The hacker took a deep breath, squeezed Dot's shoulder.  "We been doin' double duty back there, I'll tell ya.  And I think we must've run those PID scans through every piece of equipment in Mainframe, but I think we got it figured out.  Some of it anyways."

"You…  You know what she did?" Enzo whispered, a mixture of dread and anticipation leeching enough energy into his body to keep him alert.

"We think so, Honey.  I'll try to keep it as basic as possible, no offense to y'all.  We spent the last two cycles lookin' at your code every way, every angle, every side we could look.  And we found squat.  Couldn't figure it out…"

"We were looking in the wrong place." Phong added.  "We were blindfolded in a dark room, looking for a black cat.  And it was not there."

"Huh?"

Mouse sighed and shook her head.  "It was Bob who thought of it, Sugar – Shorthair-Bob, that is.  Figured out we were lookin' in the wrong place."

"Wrong… Place?" Dot frowned.  "I don't understand."

"It's not _in_ his code, Sugar.  We were looking for a software upgrade – somethin' like what old' Bob did when he downloaded the Guardian protocols to Matrix.  The pieces all seemed to fit – there was some sorta transmission of energy, we saw that – and his icon changed color.  It made too damn much sense not to be right – but it weren't right.  We underestimated the crazy old gal."

"I don't get it." Enzo protested.  "Please just tell me what happened.  What did she do to me?"

"Well, why she did it is anyone's guess, Pumpkin – but she didn't upgrade your code.  She upgraded your _hardware_."  

"What?" Dot protested.  "But… How?  How is that possible?  She barely touched him – it was just a nano!"

"I still don't get it.  My hardware?"

"It was the core energy, Child." Phong said grimly.  "Remember that Hexadecimal used the core energy to restore her powers – in fact, she became far more powerful than at any time since her creation.  She was able to absorb far more of the core energy than should have been possible – because of her trans-finite power limits."

"Crash!" Enzo moaned.  "That sounds really bad."

"Well…" Mouse sighed.  "The fact is, Sunshine, that Hex was so powerful that she was able to hard-wire changes right into your hardware – right on the processor itself."

"What kind of changes?" Dot asked in a low voice.

"We don't rightly know yet, Sugar – but Enzo's already given us some idea.  He's not viral – we know that much.  But he can absorb and channel far more energy than a normal sprite now.  See, most sprites can only run so fast or else it'll overload their hardware – fry out the board, if ya like.  Enzo is far beyond anything I've ever seen – his power levels are phenomenal."

"_Me_?"

"You already gave us a little taste of it, Honey – that little tantrum in the armory.  Not only can your body absorb and channel all this energy, it can create it too – that's what 'trans-finite power limits' really means if ya toss out all the fancy talk."

"Oh, my User." Dot whispered  "My little brother?  You're telling me my little brother now has Hexadecimal's powers?"  Enzo felt as if he were in a dream, a bizarre, terrible dream.  But he couldn't seem to wake up.

"Not exactly, Child.  He is not viral, for a start.  He does not have all of Hex's powers – he is still a sprite, after all, and a child at that.  How much of her abilities he has inherited we can only guess at.  Perhaps in time-"  

"Isn't there anything we can do?" Dot scowled.  "I mean – there must be something!"

Mouse looked at Phong, shrugged.  "Perhaps, Child, we should allow Enzo to rest now.  We can discuss-"

"No!" Enzo half-shouted.  "Tell me.  It's really bad…"

"Calm yourself, Sugar." Mouse chided.  "Your body don't know what the hell's hit it right now – you're a mess.  You got to keep yourself calm, you hear me?"

"I will." Enzo whispered, closing his eyes again.  "I just need to know what's gonna happen. Please tell me."

"Sugar…  Here's the thing – Hex managed to do whatever she did to Enzo's hardware – right down to the microcircuit level.  If it were a software upgrade we could treat it like an infection – try anti-virals, that sorta thing.  Even a full code filtration if we had to.  But none of that would work here – it's all hard-wired.  We'd be puttin' ya through all that for nothin'."

"So there's nothing…  Nothing you can do?" Dot whispered.

Phong bridged his spindly fingers and wheeled closer.  "My children…  We could attempt to repair Enzo's circuitry – to try and undo the changes that Hexadecimal has caused.  It would be an intricate operation – extremely difficult, totally unprecedented – and with no guarantee of success."

"I don't recommend it, Sugar.  It's risky – damn risky.  I couldn't even do it in good conscience."

"Alternatively..." Phong continued.  "Enzo could adapt to the new hardware as best he can.  We can upgrade his software to help him deal with his additional power capabilities-"

"Do it." 

"What's that, Honey?"

"Enzo-"

"Do it.  The operation, whatever."  Enzo was sure, he wanted to say it before he lost that certainty.  

Mouse clasped his hand.  "Like I said, Hon – I couldn't do it in good conscience.  There's a damn good chance-"

"I don't care!" Enzo sneered.  He felt a little stronger now that it was decided, and wiped his eyes with his sleeve.  "I don't want to be like this.  Do the operation, please."

"I cannot abide this, Child.  Please think about what you are saying!"

"I am thinking about it!  I'm not stupid…"  He met Dot's eyes.  "Please just do it."

"Enzo, no!  Didn't you hear Phong?  If they do this operation you could-"

"I don't care!" her brother repeated, wiping his eyes again.  "Why did she do this?  Why did she do this to me?  I thought she liked me…"  Dot gathered him in her arms once again, gingerly.

"There's something else."  It was Glitch-Bob, standing apart from the others next to his clone.  "Something else we think we've figured out."

"What?  What is it?"  Dot, her voice pleading.

The long-haired sprite and his clone moved to flank Phong at the foot of Enzo's bed.  "It's pretty obvious that Enzo was going through some pretty serious side-effects – the weariness and the muscle aches and all that…  That could all be explained easily enough by his body adjusting to the additional power.  But when AndrAIa told us what happened in the armory today…  Well, it just didn't make sense."

"I don't understand, Bob."

The Guardian stared at Enzo's small form, huddled in Dot's arms.  "I know Hex didn't always have the best-developed sense of right and wrong.  But she changed – I know she did, as much as I know anything.  And she really cared about Enzo – and she knew that he cared about her there at the end, too.  Hex and I have had our differences but…  I mean, look at him!  He's burning up with fever, his body is wrung out – this isn't right."

"Of course it isn't!"

"Let me finish, OK?  Hex would _not_ have done anything to Enzo that would cause him this kind of trouble – this much pain.  No way.  She gave him what she thought was a gift, and it never occurred to her that he wouldn't want to accept it."  

"Bob – what exactly do you mean?"

"The reason Enzo is having these… Well, I don't know what to call them.  Spells, if you like, and there have been others – Phong found two energy signatures in the post D-Day system logs that exactly match the one from the armory."  _They knew!  _  Enzo wanted to talk, to tell them about the junkyard, G-Prime – but he couldn't.  Lifting his head from Dot's shoulder would just be too much effort.  "It's because he's resisting the energy, trying to keep it contained – and his body just doesn't have the capability to do that.  And by not allowing himself to dissipate the energy he's overloading his systems – causing the fevers, the headaches, the muscle pain – his body just can't take it."

"So far I don't think he's done himself any permanent damage, Sugar – but he can't keep it up for much longer."  Enzo sensed that he'd been silent for long enough, now, that they were talking like he wasn't in the room, the way grown-ups sometimes did.

"And," Bob sighed, "It's not really doing any good.  By storing all this energy all Enzo's doing is causing it to manifest in violent episodes – and each one of those takes a terrible toll on him.  He _isn't_ Hex – he's not capable of those kinds of power outbursts.  Not without serious consequences."

"It appears," Phong mused, "That Hexadecimal intended for Enzo to manifest his powers in less dramatic ways.  This, his circuits could tolerate."

"Oh, Enzo!"  Enzo felt a droplet of data fall on his head, then another.  "Enzo…  It'll be all right…"

"I think he might be asleep, Honey."

"No, he's not." Bob-Bob said softly, a hint of a smile in his voice.

There was silence in the room, and Enzo fuzzily realized the others were waiting for him to speak.  For a change.  The sense that he was having a bad dream was strong, overpowering.  But he wasn't – this was all real, as unreal as it sounded.  "I want the operation."

"Kiddo-"  Glitch-Bob.

"I don't want to be like this.  I don't want everyone to be afraid of me…"

"Enzo Honey, just-"

"Please just…  Just do it."  There were more tiny drips of data on his head, and he could feel Dot's body shaking against him.  "I think I want to sleep now…"

"That's a good idea.  Just sleep, Sweetie – everything will be all right, I promise."  Enzo nodded, felt himself being slowly lowered into bed.  There was a soft kiss on his burning forehead.  "Everything will be fine – I promise."  He heard the words, but they had a hollow sound.  Words – not even words from Dot – could make things all right now.  And he couldn't imagine they'd ever be all right again.

  
  


  
  


  
  



	7. Chapter VII

CHAPTER VII

This time he fought consciousness – actively tried to stave if off.  Why would he want to wake up, when it was so much simpler to stay asleep and not have to deal with bitter reality?  Being awake meant having to think about what he'd become. It meant having to think about the awful look of fear on Dot's face when she stared at him.  Not to mention the pain, the weakness, and even worse – those horrible, wonderful nanos of strength, of power.  Maybe the next time it wouldn't just be walls that had holes blown in them…

The boy sighed deeply, surrendering to his thoughts and reluctantly leaving the safety of unconsciousness.  "I think he's up." Bob's voice said.  Enzo blinked his eyes open and saw Dot and AndrAIa as well.

"Thirsty." He croaked.  Dot held a glass of data to his lips and he took a long, slow sip.  "Thanks."

"Nice of you to join us, Sparky."  AndrAIa grinned at him, her face defiantly cheerful.  Enzo forced a crooked smile to his cracked lips.  "I thought you were gonna sleep for an hour there.  How about a game of jetball?"

A hoarse chuckle escaped the boy's chest.  "Maybe…later.  Where's Matrix?"

"He's busy right now.  He'll come and see you soon, though."

"OK." Enzo sighed.  "Can they do the operation today?"

"I don't think so, Pal." Bob frowned.  "Enzo, I don't think you understand-"

"I do!  Don't tell me I don't understand.  I'm not basic…"

"No one thinks you're basic, Sparky.  We just-"

"Crash!  Why can't they just get it over with?"

"Guys, can you give us a few micros?" Dot said softly.  "I want to have a talk with Enzo."

"Sure Dot." Bob sighed.  "Enzo, stay frosty all right?  You're in no shape to-"

"I won't delete her, don't worry."

Bob laughed harshly, briefly.  "Gotta keep your sense of humor, I guess.  C'mon AndrAIa."

The game sprite knelt beside the bed.  "Please don't punish yourself like this, all right?  There's an awful lot of sprites out there who love you."  She kissed Enzo on the nose and departed, leaving him alone in the room with Dot.

His sister breathed deeply and grabbed his hand.  "Don't worry – I won't hurt you." He whispered.

"Enzo…"  She moved from her chair to sit next to him on his bed.  "I could never worry about that.  Not in a million hours."

Enzo squeezed his eyes shut, choking down on a flood of emotion that threatened to well up and overwhelm him.  "I know you're afraid of me.  You don't have to lie about it."

"That's enough!" she said sharply. It was the harshest tone she'd used with him since he'd gotten sick, and he was momentarily shocked.  "I was wrong – you _are_ trying to hurt me.  Do you have any idea what it makes me feel like when you say those things?"

"I…  I know it's true.  I know you're afraid I might do something bad…"

"Do you really think so little of me, Enzo?  Have I done that bad a job taking care of you all these hours?"

"What?  No…  That's not what I mean!"

She breathed deeply, wiped her eyes.  "Enzo…  I want you to listen to what I'm about to say, all right?  Listen carefully.  When Hexadecimal did what she did, when she changed your icon…  You're right.  For a while, it did make me scared."

"I knew it!"  There was no feeling of triumph, only a grim acceptance.

"Stop, all right?  Just…  Just let me talk for a nano."  Another deep breath.  Enzo opened his eyes – her expression was weary, forlorn.  "I hated Hex, you know?  I really did, for a long time.  She did some terrible things to me – to Mainframe.  And I guess I was never really able to forgive her for those things.  Bob always believed she could change – that she _did_ change.  I never believed it, even when the evidence for it for pretty hard to ignore."

"She _did_ change.  She saved everybody."

"I know she saved everyone.  So did you.  But I could never forgive her for everything.  And I guess I could never forgive her for loving Bob, either."  Enzo stared at his sister, amazed to hear the words coming from her mouth.  "I hope if I ever had to, I'd have the courage to do what she did.  She gave up her life as a sprite so she could power up and fight Daemon.  And she gave up her code to save the net.  I hope I could be that brave, if I had to…"

"Dot, why…  Why are you telling me this?"  If there was one thing Enzo never doubted about his sister, it was her bravery.

"She did what she did for love, Sweetie.  That's why she gave up her codes – because she loved Bob.  And I think that's why she gave you what she did – because she loved you.  You were willing to accept her as she was, and I wasn't.  Or Matrix.  And now I'm going to ask _you_ to do something for love, too."

"Dot, what're you talking about?"

Dot wiped her eyes, then gently lifted Enzo so that he was cradled on her lap.  "So many minutes I've spent holding you, Sweetie.  I can't even imagine my life without those minutes – they're as much a part of me as my codes.  Enzo, do you love me?"

Enzo was confused, scared.  "I… Of course I do.  You know I do!"

"Good."  She smiled, kissed him on the forehead.  "I'm going to ask you to do something for me, because you love me.  You're going to have to trust me.  Can you do that?"

"What?  What do you mean?"

"Enzo…  I'm asking you because I love you, with all my heart.  I want you to stop fighting whatever it was Hex did to you."

"What?  Dot, no!"

"Please, Angel.  I want to do this for me.  I want you to stay with me, Enzo.  I want us to be together as a family.  I can't stand the thought of losing you.  Please stop hurting yourself like this."

"But…  You're scared of me!  I don't want to be a virus or whatever, I don't…"

"You're Enzo.  You're my little brother, and that's all that matters to me.  Whatever Hex did it didn't change who you are, Sweetie.  She didn't change your heart.  Nothing else makes any difference, don't you see?  I just want you with me, I don't care about the rest of it.  I don't care about anything except you."

"Dot…"  Enzo wanted to believe her, more than anything he wanted it.  But it just didn't seem possible.  "But what about what I did?  What about that stuff in the armory, and there were other times too-"

"I don't care."  She smiled tearfully and kissed his forehead again.  "That stuff happened because you were fighting, that's all.  You didn't hurt anyone – you could never hurt anyone.  I know what's in your heart, how good a sprite you are.  If you stop fighting and accept it you'll get better, Honey.  You'll get up and walk out of here and be home where you belong.  We'll all help you learn how to control what she did, deal with it.  You won't have to go through it alone.  I'll be with you every nano."

"But…  But what about what Phong said, maybe they can fix it…"

"That's not the answer." She sighed.  "Do you really think I'd ever let you take a risk like that?  After taking care of you for practically your whole life?  What kind of big sister would I be?  You wouldn't be doing that out of love, Enzo.  You'd be doing it out of fear.  You don't have to, don't you understand?  I love you so much, I can't stand the thought of losing you.  I don't care what Hex did – it doesn't change anything between us!"

Enzo snuggled closer, suddenly feeling cold in spite of his burning skin.  "Sometimes we don't understand a gift right away…  Sometimes it takes a while before we figure it out.  Maybe this is like that.  Hex loved you, she'd never hurt you.  Please, stop fighting Enzo.  You don't have to fight it anymore, it doesn't matter to me.  Just let it happen."

"I….don't know how." He whispered, blinking back tears.

"I know it won't be easy.  We'll help you.  _I'll_ help you, I promise."

"I don't know how, Dot!  I don't know how to deal with it, I really don't.  I don't know how to control it…"

"I know, Enzo.  Just stop fighting.  Whatever happens, we'll deal with it."

"I'm scared, Dot."  He _was - _ terrified at the prospect of trying to understand what he'd become.

"I know."

"I'm so scared, Dot.  I don't know what to do…"

"Shhh.  I know, Angel."  She held him tightly as he sobbed deep in his chest, all the pain and loneliness of the past few cycles finally overcoming him, becoming too much.  "You don't have to worry now.  You don't have to fight.  I won't let anything bad happen, I promise."

"I can't help it.  I don't know what's happening to me and I'm really scared…"

"Of course you are.  It's OK to be scared when you don't understand what's happening.  This is some pretty scary stuff.  But you don't ever have to be scared that I don't love you or that I don't want to take care of you.  That'll never happen, no matter what.  OK?"  A pause, a few nanos.  "OK?"

Enzo sobbed deeply one last time, then stared up at his sister through a watery haze.  "Y-you mean it?"

"Cross my heart, Enzo.  Trust me."

"OK." He sighed.  Every time he'd trusted her before it'd turned out all right, somehow.   "What about Matrix?"

"Oh, Enzo." His sister sighed, holding his cheek to hers.  "Give him some time, My Love.  He doesn't seem to adapt to things as fast as you do.  It's not easy for him to tell you how he feels, but that doesn't mean he cares any less.  Let him deal with his feelings his way and he'll come around.  You just need to be the big brother sometimes.  Can you do that?"

"I'll try."  He thought again of the reality that faced him, the strangeness of it – not knowing who he was.  It was utterly terrifying.  The prospect of facing it without Dot was overwhelming, impossible in it's hopelessness.  He squeezed her as tight as he could, as tightly as he had when he'd used his arms around her to clamp down on his pain.  Now it was fear he was trying to hold at bay, and to Enzo it almost felt even worse.  "Dot, I really don't know what to do!  What's gonna happen to me?"

"Whatever it is, we'll get through it.  We've gotten through everything else, you and me – and that's a lot of stuff.  We can handle it.  From now on we're not gonna be afraid of anything – we're gonna face it head on.  No more running.  Are you ready for that?"

"D-Dot?"

"Come on, Little Brother.  Are you ready to get out of this place?  You don't need to be here – you need to be home, with me.  Wouldn't you rather be back in your own bed?"

"Sure." Enzo sighed.  He was still so tired, so weak.  "But I don't think I can…"

"Erase _that_.  That's not my little brother I'm hearing.  You always had enough energy to drive me crazy, and now you've got tans-finite power limits to boot!  And you're telling me you can't get your bitmap out of that bed?"

"But… Dot!"  Enzo rasped an astonished chuckle.  "I…  I'm sick…"

"What would Matrix say?  He'd say you were a weak little sprite, I suppose."

"Stop!" Enzo recoiled. "I'm not!  I'm sick, I can't help it-"

"Yes you can, Enzo.  You can do anything you want.  Use some of that energy Hex gave you!  You don't have to toss boxes around and blow holes in walls with it.  It's yours – you can use it however you want."

"But I don't know _how_!"  Enzo could feel his anger rising.  Why was she doing this?  Couldn't she see he was sick?  She was being mean for no reason…

"Yes you do.  You feel that energy inside you, don't you?  Don't you?"

"I… No!"

"I know you do."  Her voice was quiet now, but urgent.  "Don't you feel all that energy in there, Sweetie?  Imagine that energy flowing to your arms, to your legs.  Slowly, slowly – you can hardly notice it it's moving so slow, but it's going.  Don't you feel your arms getting stronger?  Come on – grab my hand and squeeze it, tight as you can.  Show me how strong you are."

"Dot, no!  If I try, something bad will happen, I know it will!"

"No it won't, Enzo.  You're a sprite – you're strong.  You control that energy, not the other way around.  Imagine that energy moving everywhere inside you, making you strong.  Imagine it taking away the pain in your muscles.  Just breathe nice and slow.  Long, deep breaths.  See how easy it is?"

Enzo did squeeze her hand, and he felt the energy flowing throughout his body.  But that's how it had started before, wasn't it?  "Dot, I'm scared!"

"You don't have to be afraid."  Her voice was still quiet but now soothing, reassuring.  "Nothing bad will happen, I promise.  Just let the energy flow until you feel strong, and then stop it.  What could be easier than that?"

"I'll hurt you…"

She laughed – actually laughed!  The sound was preposterous to his ears, yet as familiar as his own heartbeat.  "Of course you won't, Sweetie.  You're my little brother – why in the net would you want to hurt me?"  She kissed him on top of the head gently.   "I can feel you getting stronger already.  Your grip is getting tighter, can you feel it?"

"I…  I guess I can.  But-"

"That's good.  Deep breaths, Enzo.  Not too much for now – you're still pretty tired.  Don't want to get too strong all at once.  Do you think you can sit up on your own?"

Enzo panted slowly, trying to keep his senses about him.  She made it all sound so deleted easy!  "I think I can."

"Cool."  She lifted the boy off her lap slowly, carefully, and set him on the edge of the bed.  The bottoms of his bare feet barely touched the floor and he noted, distractedly, that it was cold.  "How's that feel?"

"OK, I guess."  Enzo closed his eyes, teeth gritted in concentration.  "Hold onto me for a micro, OK?"

"OK.  I've got you."

"Don't let go!"

"OK."  Her weight was against him, her hand and his still clasped tightly.  "Just tell me when you're ready and you can do it on your own."

"Yeah."  One more slow, deep breath, then two.  There was an electric prickling on his skin, though whether it was the energy inside him or his code finally starting to flow again after so long on his back he couldn't be sure.  He was weak, still, but he could feel the power inside him coiled, stronger than anything he could imagine.  He felt like he was on a high wire, desperately trying to avoid a misstep that would send him tumbling to the ground.  "OK.  Let go."

"I already did."  He opened his eyes, startled.  Her hand was still around his but he was supporting his own weight.  "You all right?"

"I did it!"  He was astonished.

"Told ya." Dot giggled.  "You used that energy to make you stronger – and that's all.  You controlled it, and you did it all by yourself."

"I did it." The boy repeated. He looked across at Dot and threw his arms around her, laughing.  "I can't believe it, Dot!"

"Now that's the little brother I know!" His sister giggled.  "I'm proud of you, Angel."

"I…  I can still feel it inside me.  I don't know if I can control it…"

"Of course you can.  You just did.  Now – you know what I think we should do next?"

"What?"  There was an overwhelming sense of giddiness.  It was dumb to get so charged up over one little victory, Enzo knew, but he couldn't help it.

"Well – I think we should open up a vidwindow and tell Phong you decided you were just fine as you are – that you're strong enough to master this new part of you.  And I think we should tell him you're ready for those software upgrades he was talking about.  What do you say?"

"I… I guess so."

"That's my boy."  She giggled again and stroked his hair.  "One step at a time, Sweetie.  And I'll be with you for every step, OK?"

"OK." He smiled.  That wire still felt pretty thin and precarious under his feet, but it had been a good step, he had to admit.  "Thanks, Sis."  Enzo just wanted to freeze the nano – the sense of wholeness that he hadn't felt for so long.  But there were going to be tough cycles ahead, and it was impossible for him to totally forget that.  But there'd be time for that when it happened.  One step at a time…


	8. Chapter VIII

CHAPTER VIII

The day was bright – too bright, the boy thought.  Of course, all those cycles cooped up in the P.O. might have affected his perspective a little.  He couldn't help but feel horribly self-conscious, feel the eyes of the others boring holes in him.  "I don't know what to _do_!" he whined.

"I know, Sweetie."  Dot squeezed his shoulder gently.  "Don't try too hard.  It's a beautiful cycle, we're in the park.  Just relax and enjoy it.  And think about what you want to happen, picture it in your head.  Like you did in the M.U."

"But Dot – what if…  You know.  What if I can't control it and something bad happens?"

"It won't.  Remember how you controlled the energy before?  And you're much stronger, now."

"But-"

"Trust yourself, Enzo." Glitch-Bob smiled.  Enzo absently noticed that he was still shimmering in that odd way of his.  "Remember that power-management patch that Phong uploaded?  That'll help you keep control if you need it.  Just trust yourself."

"But I don't know what to do!"  The boy could feel his frustration welling up.  "I don't know how to make anything happen, crash it!  I don't-"

"What do you _want_ to happen?" Bob-Bob interrupted.

"What?  I…  I just want to be able to… Do stuff, I guess."

"Let's narrow it down a little.  Don't you feel a lot better now than you did?  Don't you feel less weak?"

"Yeah…"

"And your fever's down.  Well – looks to me like you've done a lot of good stuff already.  And look at all that software we downloaded into your icon.  You've got the best gear of any boy in the net, probably!  So just think about something much easier than what you've already done – something small and simple.  And then do it."

"Small and simple?" Enzo said hesitantly.  "Like what?"

"Surprise us." Bob chuckled.

"Uh, Sugar-"

"Don't worry, Mouse.  It'll be fine."

"Um.  All right."  Enzo took a deep breath, closed his eyes.  He settled down, cross-legged, on the grass.  Something was missing – something he needed.  He blushed slightly and looked up at Dot, hand out.  "Uh – could you…"

"Sure."

She smiled and settled next to him, taking his hand in her own.  He concentrated on the cool touch of her hands, closed his eyes again and breathed deeply, slowly.  "Thanks."  What should he do?  Something Hex could do…  No!  That was wrong – he wasn't like Hex.  But what else _was_ there?  He was fresh out of ideas…

What _could_ Hex do – just for the sake of argument?  She could teleport – but that sounded pretty scary without knowing what you were doing.  What if he figured out how to disappear but not how to come back?  Or what if he reappeared inside a rock or something?  Ouch!  No, that one was out…  She could fly.  Yeah, he'd definitely seen her do that.  That actually seemed like a pretty cool idea, flying without a zip board or anything.  Glitch-Bob could do it with Glitch's powers – why couldn't he do it with Hex's?

But _how_?  That was the question.  He had the power inside him – but how to bring it out without it just zapping all over the place and hurting somebody?  He couldn't be angry, that's for sure.  All the bad times had happened what he'd been angry – that's when the energy had come out.  Dot had made him angry too, in the M.U. – but just a little bit.  Just enough…

Dot.  Her hands were around his – she was right there, with him.  It was all right.  He breathed deeply, feeling the air filling the empty places in his lungs.  He imagined the energy doing the same thing.  Not a wall of fire, advancing, uncontrollable – not that.  Just a warmth – a glow inside him that he could feel, almost see.  A warmth that he could feel slowly coursing through his veins, slowly… Filling all the empty places inside him, making him strong.  Flowing out to his hands, to the very tips of his fingers.  In his mind's eye he could even see it flowing out of himself and flowing through Dot, could see the warm glow of her next to him even with his eyes shut.

User, it was exciting!  Enzo felt his whole body tremble, felt the energy dancing inside him, strong and unpredictable.  Desperately he tried to fight down his excitement, not let it control him.  He squeezed Dot's hand tight, concentrated on the firmness of her grip in his.  That energy was there, it was a part of him.  It could be controlled – if he could control himself.  It hit him like a bolt of lightning – it wasn't some outside force he had to control, it was _himself_.  The power was a part of him now, whether he liked it or not.  It was invigorating and terrifying at the same time…

_No!  Concentrate!  _It wasn't good to think about being scared, Enzo knew that much.  He felt his breathing speeding up and consciously slowed it.  Dot squeezed his hand a little tighter, as if sensing the spike in his adrenaline.  The boy relaxed a little, exhaled.  What did he want to do?  Just lift himself off the ground.  How hard could it be?  He hardly weighed anything – he was only a little spite, as he was reminded often enough.  He was just going to lift a little boy up, that's all.  Easy as pi squared.

The world of his senses seemed to leave him.  There was no sound, no smell, no sight – just the feeling of himself, a body, energy.  He imagined the body lifting slowly off the ground, rising into the air.  So slowly that it barely ruffled the grass.  The boy felt a tingling sensation all over his skin, a hundred pixels were dancing across it, a thousand.  His heartbeat became a thundering drum in his ears, loud, regular, strong.  He _was_ strong – he knew it.  He could do anything.  The warmth was coursing through him like a river, touching all of him, leaving a sheen of energy everywhere it went.   He felt his limbs stretching out, making himself as big as he possibly could, stretching even to his toes.  It was wondrous, an ecstatic feeling.  It was being completely, totally alive.

"Enzo."

The voice was a mere whisper, but the shock of it was such that it sounded like a squadron of ABCs in his ear.  The voice was calm.  "Enzo, can you hear me?"

"Yes." He breathed.  He fluttered his eyes open, saw a reassuring patina of green directory trees.  But the trees – why were they moving?  He swiveled his eyes downwards and realized with a shock that he'd left the ground.  He was above it, dancing impossibly slowly in the air, as if caught up in the lightest of breezes.  The first reaction was sheer, unparalleled joy.  He was flying!

"I think we're getting a little too high up."  The voice was still quiet, but just a quiver of nervousness.  He jerked his head around to his left.  His hand, the grip…  Dot!  She was right next to him.  Her face was a mask of astonishment.  "Maybe we should… land?"

"Dot!" A gasp.  They were flying!  It was impossible.  Panic surged in Enzo's chest, and with it a spike of energy.  He felt his control slipping and desperately willed them downwards to the ground, slowly.  But they were moving fast, too fast…  With a shared "Oof!" the siblings tumbled to the grass with an impact that knocked the wind from their chests.

There was an explosion of concerned faces and helping hands surrounding them in a nano.  "Damn, Sugar – you guys all right?"

Enzo felt dazed for a nano, then a dull pain in his bitmap where he'd hit the ground.  His heart was racing but panic receded as he realized he was basically unscathed.  "Crash…"

"I'm fine."  

Dot!  He turned, found her in a tumble of limbs next to him.  "Sis!  Are you OK?"

"I'm all right.  A little shaken up-"

"I'm sorry!"  His arms were around her in a flash.

"Take it easy there, Kiddo!  You're gonna snap her like a memory wafer if you're not careful."

"I'm so sorry, Sis.  Are you OK?  I'm so sorry…"

"I'm fine, Sweetie!  Hush up, it's all right."  

"That was pretty amazing."  There was a note of awe in Bob's voice.

"Sis, I'm sorry-"

"I'm just fine."  Her arms were around him, holding him close to her as trembled from exhilaration and fear.  "Are you OK?  Nothing broken?"

"N-no.  I'm OK.  Jeez Dot, I'm so sorry…"

"Don't be sorry!" his sister laughed softly.  "You did fine, Enzo – it was exciting!  You did just great."

"Did you get all that?" Bob asked.

"Logged and filed, Honey." Mouse replied.  "I'm sure Phong an' me are gonna spend a few seconds porin' over this…"

"User – I can't believe it!" Enzo sighed.  His heart was still racing, along with his breathing.  "I can't believe that just happened."

"Calm down, Sweetie.  Just take deep breaths, relax.  It's all over and we're fine."

"But…  We were _flying, _Dot!  I mean – is that basic or what?"

"I know!  I was there!"

"Crash…"

Glitch-Bob knelt next to them, looking weary, and winked at Enzo.  "Pretty weird feeling, isn't it?  Flying without a zip board?"  Enzo returned his stare blankly.  "That was pretty good for a first try, Enzo – now, let's try and take it nice and slow, OK?  We're just finding out what you can do, that's all.  No point in taking chances."

"Yeah – I think that's enough for today, huh?  Let's rest." Dot smiled.  "How about that?  My little brother!"

Mouse shook her head in amazement.  "How did it feel, Sugar?  How'd you do it?"

Enzo was still dazed, still tingling from the feeling of the energy suffusing him.  "I…  I don't even know if I can explain it.  It was like…  It was like I could feel every part of me, somehow.  It was weird.  I sort of saw it all happening in my head…"

"What happened at the end, Pumpkin?  Did you lose the picture in your head?  The landing was a little rough."

Enzo felt himself blush.  "I don't know, I…  I kinda though about what I was doing, I guess – and I figured out how impossible it was and I felt the energy start to… Boil over or something, I dunno…  And then we were falling."

"Was it scary?" Bob smiled.

"A little.  There wasn't much time…"

"You didn't crash – you kept some control, even while you were falling." Glitch-Bob mused.   "Not bad at all, really.  We'll have to play it pretty careful, though.  No point in taking chances.  You're sure you're both OK?"

"Yeah – fine."

"Nothing broken." Dot sighed.  "Except my grip on reality."

"Eep." Bob frowned, peering over Enzo's head at something behind him.  "Nulls."

"What?" Dot turned, Enzo following suit.  There were perhaps a half-dozen of the creatures skittering through the grass, tentatively coming closer to where Enzo and Dot had crashed to the ground.  "Oh, great."

"They followed me before, too." Enzo said softly.  "In G-Prime.  Mister Pearson's, too."

Dot draped an arm around him protectively.  "Maybe we'd better get you out of here."

"I suppose they could be sensing some sort of energy trace – something familiar." Glitch-Bob mused.  "Mouse?"

"It's possible, Sugar.  We don't know much about what nulls think, but we know they're highly sensitive to energy fluctuations.  That's probably why they hung around Hex so much."

"Enzo, let's get you home-"

"Wait, Dot."

His sister shifted nervously.  "Enzo…  If they're reading your elevated energy levels we don't know what they might do.  They might try and surround you, drain your energy like they did with Hex-"

"Wait."  He took a step closer to the nulls, a burning curiosity driving him.

Dot grabbed his arm.  "Enzo, no!  Be careful!"

"Let 'im go, Honey.  This could be interestin'…  We'll keep a close eye on the l'il angel."

Enzo took another step towards the nulls, barely hearing Bob's voice behind him.  "Archiving this, Mouse?"

"You know it, Guardian."

"Enzo, you be careful!  Don't get too close."

"I'm fine, Sis."  The boy inched forward and the nulls squealed, seemingly agitated.

"Enzo!"

"I'm OK."  The boy started at the nulls, trying to concentrate, make his mind work, but it was no good – the squirming, squeaking creatures were a distraction.  The more he started at them the less he saw them.  With a sigh, the boy closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath.  He could hear the creatures, almost _feel_ them as they skittered practically onto his feet.

"Enzo, come away from there!"

"Shhh." Mouse's voice.

He could see them now, but not like before.  He saw them in his mind – the energy traces they left, the different signatures of each null.  Each was as different to the other as a sprite was. Why hadn't he seen it before?  It was so obvious!  He felt the energy inside him again, the warm energy flowing through his body.  He could connect it – he could reach out with his energy and connect with the nulls, guide them, pull them.  He could do it.  Without even realizing it his hands were in front of him, acting out the vision in his mind.  It was as if the nulls were an orchestra in front of him…  As he moved his hands, they moved.  His energy and theirs were one, an unbroken circle.

A million systems away he could feel droplets of sweat forming on his forehead, slowly dripping down his face.  He swallowed, throat dry.  Controlling _one_ was easy – his mind focused sharply on the signature in front of him.  But controlling several at a time was harder, much harder.  His mind had to be in too many places at once.  He could gather their energies to his, cluster them together side by side, even pile them one on top of the other.  But they were still distinct, each needing a little slice of his attention and every time he'd firm the link with one another would slip away from him.  He needed to combine them somehow, unite their energies – but how?  He could do it, it was energy, that's all it was.  But how?  How could it do it?

The boy heard a groan, realized it was coming from him, and felt soft grass under him as he fell.  The nulls were gone from his mind – now just squeaking, skittering blips on the edge of his consciousness.  He felt himself being gathered up and lifted off the ground.  "That's enough.  No more.  Come on, Sweetie, that's enough."

"Dot…"  Enzo blinked sweat from his eyes.  "I could feel them.  It was amazing…"

She carried him back to the others, sat with her back to a directory tree, the boy still in her arms.  "That's enough for today.  Just rest, now."

"I could feel them, Dot.  They're all different!  I tried to control all of them but I couldn't…"

"I know, Angel.  You did just fine.  Now just rest, take it easy.  You've done enough for one cycle."

Enzo could feel his consciousness slipping away.  He was weary, but not the same awful, ravaged weariness he'd felt earlier.  This was almost reassuring, in it's way – like being tired at the end of a long hike with Bob.  "Dot…  If I can control the nulls.  Maybe I…I can bring Dad back."

"I know, Angel.  I know.  But don't worry about it just now, OK?  You're tired.  Don't worry about anything right now."

"Amazing." Bob said softly.  "Never seen anything like it since I've been processing…"

His father was in Enzo's thoughts as he drifted off in Dot's arms.  It was really possible – he could do it, if only he were strong enough.  If only he were strong enough.  With that thought echoing in his mind, he gave in to exhaustion.

"Hey!  How long have you been up?"

"Just a few nanos." Enzo yawned.  Bob and Glitch-Bob entered the room, sat on opposite corners at the foot of the bed.  "Guess I was pretty tired…"

"Maybe you're pushing yourself too hard." Glitch-Bob frowned.

"Naw – I'm OK."  Enzo was in his own bed, in his own room – things weren't too bad.  There was a weariness after he worked on his program, but he wasn't sick.  It was just being tired after working hard. "What're you guys up to?"

"Just paying you a visit.  And dropping something off." Bob smiled.

Enzo frowned.  A present?  Neither of the Guardians was carrying a parcel…  "What did you bring me?  It's not my birthday."

"Nothing too much.  We were talking, Enzo – about a lot of stuff.  Scarface told me-"

"Hey!"

Bob winked slyly at Enzo.  "Scarface told me all about what happened before Ray brought me back through the portal.  About how you came back from the game and helped Matrix cure himself.  How you found Hex, helped her – I have to say I was pretty impressed.  That was a tough situation, and you really came through."

"Thanks."  Enzo blushed.  "I…  I was just trying to do the right thing, I guess."

"Well, good job!" Bob grinned.  "I noticed how you rebooted into a Guardian uniform before you did all that stuff.  You might not have been a Guardian, but you acted like one.  You did that uniform proud, Enzo."

"Really?"  Enzo knew he was grinning like an idiot, but he didn't really care.

"Really.  I made a decision once – a decision to promote a young sprite who was still pretty green around the ears – and everywhere else!  But he proved I made the right decision then.  And you proved it again."

"Phong's given you a lot of software upgrades already, Kiddo." Glitch-Bob smiled wearily.  "We have one more for you if you're interested."

Enzo's heart began to race in his chest.  "Bob!  You mean…"

Glitch-Bob patted the boy's hand.  "You're in for a pretty tough road, Pal.  It was pretty tough after I merged with Glitch – and it was a lot easier for me, because I could communicate with the Glitch part of me – sort of.  I knew Glitch almost as well as I knew _him_."  The Guardian gestured towards his shorter-haired colleague.  "You don't really know anything about this power you've been given – you're going to need all the help we can give you.  And I might not always be here to help you myself…  But there's another way we can help you."

Bob leaned forward.  "Enzo, the Guardian protocols can help you focus.  They can help you concentrate.  You'll still have a lot of hard work ahead of you, but we think this will make it easier.  When you're upgraded it strips away some of the distractions from your mind.  It might make a big difference."

"Also, the Guardian protocols are designed to interface with a keytool.  Keytools have pretty high power capacities.  Not trans-finite, but pretty high.  That could make a difference, too."

"You…  You guys are gonna make me a Guardian?  Do you mean it?"

"We agreed." Glitch-Bob nodded.  "Which hasn't happened very often over the last few cycles…"

"We really think it'll be good for you, Enzo.  But we still wouldn't have done it…"

"If we didn't think you deserved it."

"Crash!  It's true?  I can't believe it!"

Glitch-Bob leaned forward now, his head practically touching his clone's.  "It's true.  But I nee to know you're ready for this, Enzo.  If you accept the protocols it means you accept everything they stand for.  It means you commit yourself to mend and defend, no matter what.  You have to be sure."

"Yeah!  Oh User, yeah…  It's all I ever wanted, honest!"

"That's not all, Enzo.  A big part of being a Guardian is discipline – and that comes from you, not the protocols.  That discipline is gonna be even more important to you now.  You're going to have to promise me you'll train long and hard, and you'll listen to Bob, OK?  He's going to push you pretty hard sometimes.  You promise?"

"Yeah.  I promise!"  Something about what Glitch-Bob said was wrong, he could sense it…  But it didn't matter, he was going to be a Guardian!  A real one, not just a kid in a Guardian suit…

"OK, then."  Glitch-Bob sighed.  He turned to his doppelganger.  "Go for it."

"Right." Bob nodded.  He held out his hand.  "Your icon please, Enzo."  Trembling, the boy complied.  "Just one thing, Enzo – we don't know for sure that this is going to work.  It's possible that Whatever Hex did to your icon will effect its ability to run the upgrade."

"Oh no!  Really?"  The thought was almost too terrible to think about.  He was so close!

"One way to find out."  Bob removed his own icon and held it in his left hand, held the boy's purple and gold one in his right.  "Downloading Guardian protocol to version 1.0."  A stream of data passed between the two discs.

"Oh User… How long does it take?  What if it doesn't work?  Crash…"

"Relax." Glitch-Bob said softly, squeezing Enzo's hand.  His eyes never left the two icons.

Bob exhaled, replaced his own icon.  The boy's was unchanged, visually.  "I guess that's it.  Here you go, Tiger.  Put that on and reboot for me."

"OK."  Enzo took the icon in a shaking hand and pinned it to his chest.  "Crash!  It looks stupid over my pajamas like that…"

"Just reboot!" Bob giggled.  "The suspense is killing me…"

"Oh!  Yeah…"  Enzo closed his eyes and double-clicked his icon.  When he opened them he was dressed in a Guardian uniform – not the powder-blue jumpsuit that Bob wore, but a darker blue one with gold trim and black boots.  A cadet uniform.  "Alphanumeric!  It worked!"

"Looks that way." Bob grinned and turned to his companion.  "Well?"

Glitch-Bob closed his eyes and furrowed his brow.  "Yeah…  Guardian upgrade version 1.0 is running.  Everything looks normal."

"Looks like we got ourselves a cadet."

"Yes!" Enzo laughed, bouncing up and down on the bed.  "This is super-cooled, double-sided, pixelacious!"

"Just remember why we did it." Glitch-Bob said sternly, hands on Enzo's shoulders.  "Because we think it can help you deal with your new capabilities, and because we think you deserve it.  Don't let us down, OK?  We're counting on you."

"I won't.  Not ever!"  Enzo looked up from admiring his uniform and noticed for the first time that Glitch-Bob was shimmering again, like he had before the transfusion.  His face looked drawn and thin as well.  "Bob?"

"Congratulations." The long-haired sprite smiled, squeezing Enzo's hand.  "I want you to promise to listen to everything Bob says, OK?  I'm not going to see you for a little while."

"Why?"  Enzo felt like all the air had been kicked out of him.  "You're…  You're going away?  No!"

"I'm not going away.  But I have to go back to the medical unit for a while."

"The M.U.?  Why?  I thought you were better!"

"I am, Tiger.  Crewcut over there gave me a transfusion and it really helped.  But it didn't fix the real problem.  You know how I told you I merged with Glitch?  To get everyone back in so they could save Mainframe?"

"Y-yeah…"

"Well, I'm glad I did that.  But there's a reason we're not supposed to merge with our keytools.  And you know that Glitch was damaged – Megabyte did that, remember.  And now Glitch is a part of me, so I'm damaged too.  I can't maintain my energy levels, no matter how much energy I take in.  And it isn't going to get any better by itself."

"No!"  Enzo gasped.  "Maybe…  Maybe I could help you.  I've got _tons_ of energy now!"  He threw his arms around the Guardian's neck.  "I can help you, Bob!"

"No you can't, Tiger.  I can't absorb enough energy, no mater where it comes from or how much there is.  Thanks, but it wouldn't work."

"No!"  Enzo felt hot tears stinging the corners of his eyes.  "You can't delete, Bob.  You can't, not now!  Please…"

Glitch-Bob returned the boy's embrace in kind.  "I'm not going without a fight Enzo, I can promise you that.  I'm not going without a fight."

"What…  What are you going to do?"

"Phong and Mouse are going to try and separate Glitch from my codes.  If they can do that, I should be able to regenerate and I'll be OK."

"R-really?" Enzo sniffled.

"We're going to try, Kiddo.  But it's not something anyone's ever done before, so we don't know what's gonna happen.  I'm going into the M.U. today and they'll start getting me ready.  But I want you to promise me that you'll work hard and listen to Bob no matter what happens, OK?"

"No!  You won't delete Bob, I know you won't.  You can't!"  Enzo thought that somehow a brand-new Guardian cadet shouldn't be crying, but he didn't care.  It just didn't seem important, anymore.

"I'll give it everything I have.  I swear.  But I still want you to promise me, OK?  Promise me you'll listen to Bob, and your sister too, while you're at it."

"I promise." The boy sighed.  "But don't die!"

"Is that an order, Cadet?  Are you ordering a superior officer?"

"N-no!"  A teary laugh.  "I don't want either of you to go away, ever.  I like having both of you here."

"Be brave." Glitch-Bob whispered, and pounded him on the back.  He gently lowered the boy to the bed.  "And remember what you promised."

"OK."  Enzo sighed, wiping his eyes.  "Thanks for telling me."  _I bet Dot didn't want you to…_

"It'll be all right."  Bob-Bob smiled his ever-youthful smile.  "Cadet."

"Yeah."  He wasn't sure if he really believed it.   "I wonder if they'll ever figure out which one of you is the original…"

"I don't think it matters too much." Glitch-Bob said softly.  "Do you think it matters, Enzo?"

"Not a byte." The boy said decisively.  "A copy's as good as an original any cycle!"  He smiled, looked up at Glitch-Bob's haggard face and started to cry again, just a little.  "Oh User, please don't delete…"

"Not without a fight.  Now – why don't you and crewcut go do some training?  Break in that new uniform?"

"But-"

"Come on, Pal.  I'll show you some of my secret martial arts moves.  Let's give the old man a little peace, huh?"

Enzo looked at Glitch-Bob.  The Guardian wanted time alone with Dot – it was obvious.  To say good-bye.  The thought almost made him cry again, but he fought back the tears through gritted teeth.  "OK."  Glitch-Bob tousled his hair once, softly, and the boy took Bob's hand and went out into the sunny Mainframe morning.


	9. Chapter IX

COMING HOME

CHAPTER IX

Note: This chapter was mistakenly omitted from the original FF.Net posting.  Sorry!

"Enzo, are you sure you're ready to try this?"

"Yes." Enzo answered softly, eyes closed.  

"You don't have to do this, you know.  There's no rush."

"I know, Dot." The boy sighed.  "But I'm ready – I know I am."  He felt a pang of guilt at the lie.

Dot knelt beside him on the hard floor of the lab.  "Sweetie, I know how hard you're working at this.  And I know how much you want to bring Dad back.  I know you want to do it for me.  But you don't have to do this yet – you've only been out of the M.U. a few cycles.  There's no shame in taking time to learn and get stronger.  Dad will still be here when you're ready."

"I know, Sis."

"You don't have to prove anything to me, Enzo.  Not to anyone.  You don't have to try and be a grown-up.  It's OK to be a little boy."

"I want to try.  I think I can do it, just give me a chance!"

"Enzo…"  She sighed and kissed his cheek.  "We've already been through so much.  If you try and do this before you're ready you could get sick again."

"I won't.  I'll be fine.  Please?"

"Enzo-"

"_Please_, Dot?"  The determination was plain on his face, even if Enzo didn't care to tell Dot the reasons behind it.  The boy was beginning to learn just how vital concentration was to controlling the energy inside him – and concentration had never been something he'd had in large supply.  Glitch-Bob was in the M.U.  As long as he was processing everything might be OK.  But he might delete, and Enzo knew it.  If he deleted, Enzo figured he wouldn't be able to concentrate on _anything_ for a long, long time.  So he had to try _now_…

_No!_  the boy pushed the thought of Glitch-Bob from his mind.  It was the wrong time to be thinking about it.  Phong, who had been keeping a respectful distance from the siblings as they spoke, wheeled over to join them. "Well, Child?  Do you wish to proceed?"

"Yes." Enzo said softly.

"We'll…  We'll try it, Phong." Dot sighed.  "But at the first sign Enzo's in trouble, pull the plug."

"Of course, Dot.  Are you ready, Child?"

"I guess so.  I mean – yes.  There's no one else here, right?"

"No, Young Guardian.  Only we three."  

_Good.  No distractions_.  Enzo took a deep breath and closed his eyes.  "OK…  I'm ready.  Hold my hand, Dot?"

"Yes."  His sister took his hand in her own.  Maybe it was his imagination, but the boy felt that he was somehow stronger when they were connected – the touch of her hand helped him focus his mind.  She hadn't been holding him when he'd tried to control the nulls before.  Besides, considering what he was trying to do it was only right that they be together.

"You will tell me when to release the nulls, Young Enzo?"

Enzo's eyes snapped open.  "Uh…  That could be a problem, Phong.  When I'm using the energy it's better if I don't talk for some reason.  It's like talking knocks the picture out of my head.  It gets so I almost don't even hear anything, either."

"Can you squeeze my hand?  When you're ready?  Then I can give Phong a signal."

"Yeah…  I guess I can.  OK, Phong?"

"Of course, Child.  I will await your signal.  And good luck."

"Thanks." He whispered.  He took one last look at Dot, squeezed her hand for luck, and closed his eyes.   He could sense the nulls on the periphery of his consciousness, but ignored them – he had to clear everything away first, as best he could.  A series of long, slow breaths.  Air rushing into his lungs, filling his body, paving the way for the energy that would follow.  

He could sense the energy there.  It was always there, but he only sensed it when he looked for it.  Oddly, he could almost sense the Guardian protocols too, though not in the same way, of course.  In his mind's eye they were a wall, a solid bedrock of support.  If he felt weak they would support his weight, keep him from falling.  They would keep the energy from going where it wasn't supposed to.  Or so he hoped.

Enzo banished the negative thought from his processor and opened his mind to the energy.  There was the familiar pricking of his skin as it began to lazily, deliberately fill him.  His torso first, his lungs, his stomach.  Slowly, patiently snaking out onto his shoulders, his arms, his legs.  He stretched his limbs out, splayed his fingers and toes, giving the energy as much room as possible to expand and grow.  He could feel it tingling all over him, through him, wanting to lift him off the ground as it had before.  It would be so easy now – to fly, graceful and weightless.  It would be so easy, the most natural thing in the net.

The boy grunted in exertion, more effort being required to keep himself anchored than to rise into the air.  The energy was exuberant – it wanted to be free, to carry him with it.  He _was_ the energy, he wanted the freedom.  But Enzo needed that energy, needed to direct it elsewhere.  He flexed his arms, feeling the coiled strength in his muscles, and allowed the nulls into his consciousness.

They were there – perhaps twenty or thirty of them, roiling in the tank.  They were so close he could almost touch them through the glass, and he saw them far more clearly than if his eyes had been open.  They were agitated – they sensed him, as he sensed them.  They were drawn to him, elementally.  He sensed the need in the core of their strange consciousness.  There were too many – he could never hope to control them.  Not individually.

Heedless of the sweat forming on his brow, heedless of the other two sprites in the lab, Enzo made contact with the first null.  It was a random choice – perhaps he should have chosen scientifically or intuitively, but his mind sought out the first signature that caught it's fancy.  It was easy – he saw the link between them, clean and pure and simple, a joining of pure energy.  He flexed his fingers as his mind probed, testing its control.  The null danced in the tank as if on a string.

Enzo hadn't known how he would proceed past that nano – how he would surpass his previous attempt and succeed where he had failed before.  He'd merely hoped that when the time came, he would know what to do.  And, miraculously, the knowledge was clear to him now – as if it were a long-known fact, simply forgotten.  And now remembered.  He didn't reach out with another tendril of his energy, did not reach out a new connection to another null.  He focused his mind on the pure, simple link to the null that was already in his mind.  And through that link, solid and secure, he reached _through_ the null to a second.  It was an unbroken connection.  One link, two nulls.

Their signatures were becoming too muddled, now.  Too many of them, too close together.  He needed their individuality.  They were too many and too close in the tank – his link was becoming tangled already.  He diverted a small sliver of his energy and sent it to his left hand, which squeezed, slowly but firmly, on his sister's right.  Her voice was far, far away, as if he were hearing it through a long tunnel.  "Release them, Phong."

Enzo recoiled for a moment as the nulls poured out of the tank and onto the floor of the lab.  It was an overload of his senses, too much input.  He felt a shiver run the course of his body, head to toe, and his knees weakened.  Dot's voice again came from far away. "Phong!  Maybe you-"

_No!_  Enzo squeezed her hand, firmly, telling her he was all right.  He took several slow breaths, trying to calm himself, and turned his attention back to the nulls.  They were falling all over each other, confused, unsure.  Enzo tested his link to the null already in his control as if he were tugging on a rope, and found it secure.  He traced it through the first null, through the second, and probed outwards, finding a third signature close at hand.  Again, it was easy – it was still one connection, his mind could handle it, maintain it.  The first two nulls were almost an afterthought.

The boy saw a chain in his mind – a chain of light, of warmth, long and thin.  And three brighter, hotter nexus points, like links.  Then, as quickly, there were four, five.  It was getting harder, almost imperceptibly – even as an unbroken stream of energy it was longer, required more discipline to maintain.  But he could do it.  He reached out, added a sixth link.  A seventh.  Gasped at the sheer sensation of it.  Eight.  Nine.  And all one…

Now Enzo began to consider, broadly, what he had to do to bring his father back.  Once again he had no idea, truth be told – only a vague notion based on what he'd seen Hexadecimal do.  And once again he fell back on instinct, not as clear as the insight of a few moments earlier but still, it felt _right_.  Dad needed energy – he needed energy to convert his impulses into movement, speech.  Hex had given him energy – a body, as it were.  A body of nulls, providing energy just as a sprite's body provided _it_ energy.  That meant there must be a spark of Dad in his null, a will.  Did all these other nulls have a will, too?

No – that was too much thinking.  How many did he have, now?  Fifteen?  Twenty?  His energy had been adding more even as his logic circuits were wandering.  The connection in his mind was a beautiful thing now.  His hands began to dance in the air in front of him, unconsciously.  He drew them together, one on top of the other, began piling them into what he hoped was a body but how could he know, really?  Their energy was shared, they were one – he hoped it would be enough.  _Dad?  Dad, can you hear me?_

Enzo's mind found the lone null in its cage, far apart from the others.  Like all the nulls it had its own signature, unique – but he found nothing recognizably "Dad" -like in its nature.  It needed the energy, it needed the body.  He squeezed Dot's hand again, urgently.  This time he didn't even hear her voice, but he felt the null slide from its cage, onto the floor.  Tracked it as it cautiously made its way towards him, questing.  Then, all it once, it sped across the floor and squirreled its way atop the rough mound of nulls Enzo had constructed.

There was a nano of sharp pain as the energy in Enzo's body flared brightly, sparked.  Then a voice – strangled, confused.  "Daughter?"

"Dad!" A gasp, Dot, far away down the tunnel.  Enzo felt his emotions rising and gasped, trying to maintain the connection between himself and the nulls.  There was now one fiercely bright, white-hot nexus at the pinnacle of the null body, the terminus of the chain of energy.  Dad.

"Dot?  I'll never get used to this."  Enzo could hear the voice in his ears, but also in his mind.

"Oh, Dad!  It was Enzo – Enzo brought you back, Dad!"

"Enzo?"  There was confusion in the voice.  "Son?"

Enzo couldn't speak.  He couldn't make his vocal chords work.  He desperately reached out with his mind, trying to send his consciousness down the line of energy and reach its nexus.  _Dad…  I'm here.  Can you feel me?_

"Where are you?  Enzo?"  The voice in his mind and his ears.

_It's…  Very hard, Dad.  I don't know how…  How long…_

"Son?  How are you doing this?"

_Ask…  Dot._  The communication was brutally difficult.

"Dot?  I don't understand.  How is Enzo doing this?"

"Oh, Dad…"  She was crying, he could hear it in her voice.  "It was Hexadecimal, she…  She did something to him, gave him a power.  He can control the nulls, but it isn't easy…"

"Enzo?  Are you all right?"

_Dad._  He sent the one word, all he could muster.

"Oh Dad – it's so hard for him.  Dad…"

"Is…  Is Daemon gone?  Did it work?"

"Yes, Dad.  The net is safe."

"Thank the User.  Enzo, Son…  Are you still with me?"

_Dad!_  User, it was so hard...  It wasn't fair – he could bring his father back but he could barely communicate with him!  His mind just wasn't strong enough – not yet.  With each passing nano it was getting harder and harder to control the nulls, and trying to communicate consciously with his father sapped away precious concentration.

"I hear you, Son.  I… I miss you."

Enzo gasped again.  He could vaguely feel both of Dot's arms around him now, supporting his weight.  He let his physical form go altogether, devoted all his energy to the nulls.  He could see the edges of his chain beginning to fray, little sparkles of energy as they dissipated into the ether.  _Dad…  I'm trying, Dad…_

"I know, Son.  Don't try too hard – it'll be all right."

"Oh, Dad.  I think…  I think we should stop this, Dad! I don't think he can take any more."

_No!  Please…_

"Enzo, it's all right.  We'll talk again.  It's time to let me go, now."

_No!  I can…  Dad!_

"Is Matrix all right?"

"He's fine, Dad.  He's…  He's defending a game or he'd be here now."

"My – this is certainly a strange turn, isn't it?"  Somehow, the characteristic gentle humor still found it's way into Welman Matrix' labored voice.  "I find myself not wanting to leave – but I think its time.  For now."

More sparks, more fraying of the thread.  Enzo was leaning on that wall of bedrock in his mind, as surely as his body was supported by Dot - trying to keep from collapsing, loosing the energy in an explosion of chaos.  "Dad, we've got to stop!  It's hurting him!"

"You heard your sister.  Let me go, Son.  We'll be together again, I promise."

_Dad!  Don't go…_

"Stop, Enzo!  Just stop, please.  Phong, help me!"

There was a final touch, a warm reassurance to his mind.  "I love you, Kids.  Behave yourselves."  Then the fiercely hot, bright nexus at the end of the chain was gone, and in its absence the link began to disintegrate.  Enzo surrendered it and felt blackness rush into his mind, blessed emptiness.

"Enzo!  Oh User, Enzo…  Talk to me Sweetie.  Talk to me."

Talking was out of the question.  He could still hear though – that meant he was processing, anyway. He could feel, too – there were hands holding him, stroking his hair.  Dot was kissing his forehead.  "Talk to me, Sweetie.  Please, Enzo!"

"I believe he will be all right in a few moments, Child.  His energy levels are extremely low – he must have been exerting himself to the limits of his ability.  But his systems are all functioning normally."

"Thank the User!"

"Extraordinary, most extraordinary…"

"Dot?"

"I'm here, Angel.  Just take it easy."

Enzo felt strange - empty and exhilarated and utterly exhausted and totally sad, all at once.  He fluttered his eyes open.  "Dot, I talked to Dad.  I talked to him, in my head…"

"I know, Angel.  We heard him talking to you."

"I talked to him, and he answered me."

"I know." Another kiss on the forehead.  

"He said he loved us…"

"I know Baby, I know.  You brought Dad back.  But right now you need to rest, OK?"

"Sorry I…  I couldn't keep him here.  I tried."

"I know you did.  You were wonderful, Enzo.  You brought Dad back.  Some cycle you can do it again, but just take it easy right now.  You're very tired."

"I'll do better next time." Enzo sighed, closing his eyes.  "I know I can do better.  It was just so hard to talk to him, it was so hard…"

"Shhh.  Don't talk so much."

"I think I would like to keep the boy in the M.U. overnight, Child – just to observe his condition.  I believe that would be a prudent precaution."

"That was why Hex did it, Dot.  She wanted me to have Dad back."

"Maybe she did, Enzo."  The boy felt himself being lifted from the floor; felt his head rested on a strong shoulder.  "Let's get him to a bed, Phong.  He feels like he's totally drained of energy – he's not supporting his weight at all."

"I must return the nulls to their pens, Child – I will be along shortly."

Enzo felt like he was in a dream, bodiless, weightless.  There was the soft hum of a zip board.  "Dot…  Are you still there?"

"I'm carrying you, Sweetie.  I'm right here.  Don't talk, just rest."

"She did it so I could bring Dad back, Sis.  That's why Hex did it.  She just wanted to help me…"

"I know she did.  And you did it, too – she'd be proud of you.  Bur right now she'd want you to rest and get your strength back, OK?"

"OK."  He was drifting off, floating away on the wind.  "I'm so tired, Dot…"

"I know."  The shoulder gave way to a pillow, soft.  Blankets around him – a bed.  _It must be time to sleep._  "Go to sleep, Enzo.  No more nulls today.  Just go to sleep, everything's OK."

"OK, Dot."  Hex had given him back his Dad – for a while anyway.  It was an amazing thought.  "Dot, I talked to Dad."

"I know, Sweetie.  You brought him back to us.  And now you're going to sleep for a while."

"OK."  It sounded like a pretty good idea, actually.  "Good night, Dot."

"Good night, Love."  _Was_ it night?  Enzo couldn't be sure.  It didn't matter, it was time to sleep.  So he did.


	10. Chapter X

COMING HOME

CHAPTER X

"Do you have any sevens?"

"Go fish." AndrAIa giggled. 

"Crash! I should no better than to play card games with you – especially 'Go Fish'." Anything with fish."

"Hey – I can't help it if I rock at games, Enzo. I'm a game sprite."

"I wish Phong would let me go home." Enzo grumbled. "I feel fine."

"He's just waiting for the results of your scans, that's all. They're just being careful. Its not every day a boy animates a null monster, is it?"

"I guess not." He smiled. "I feel good, though – I was just tired. I slept for almost a cycle."

"You'll get home today, don't worry."

Enzo sighed and absently ruffled his cards. "This is basic – I never win. We should call Mouse and find out if there's any news-"

"Enzo – they haven't even started yet! We're just gonna have to wait a while."

"Crash. If Bob dies, I'll-"

"Hush. Have some faith, Love. He's survived a lot of stuff already, you know? He's strong. In the meantime it doesn't do any good to worry about it, does it? So chill out. Do you have any kings?"

"Cursors and crashes! How do you _know_ this stuff?" He tossed his cards aside. "That's another game. Jeez!"

"Games are my function, Young Guardian. Another go?"

"Nah." The boy leaned back, hands behind his head. "I wonder what Dot'll do. About the two Bobs. I mean, if… Well-"

"It'd be a pretty nice thing to have to worry about, wouldn't it?"

"Yeah." He whispered. "I really think she loves 'em both."

"When did you get to be the big romantic advisor, huh?"

"Andri! Stop it…"

"You're cute when you blush." The game sprite giggled. There was a tentative knocking at the door, barely audible. AndrAIa frowned. "Its open."

Matrix poked his head through the door. "Hey. OK if I come in for a nano?"

"Sure." Enzo said softly. There was a palpable spike of tension in the room. Matrix shuffled his feet, looked around uncomfortably.

"How you feeling?" he finally asked, not making eye contact.

"Fine. Better." Enzo replied.

"Good. Uh – Andri, can I have a few nanos with Enzo?"

The game sprite looked at Enzo. The little sprite felt a bit unsure, but shrugged. "OK, Sparky. You two have a nice talk."

"Thanks." AndrAIa kissed both sprites on the cheek, then departed the room, casting a worried look back before she closed the door. Matrix coughed, sighed and sat down on the chair next to the bed. "You really feeling OK?"

"Yeah – I'm alphanumeric. I slept forever, almost – but I'm fine. I hope they let me go soon."

"Yeah." The bearded sprite still wouldn't look Enzo in the eye. He sat rigidly, awkwardly in the chair, eyes on his feet. "There actually _is_ something I wanted to tell you."

"What?"

A hint of a smile tugged at the corner of the big sprite's mouth. "Don't waste time, huh? That's good, I guess." He looked up, at last – not quite meeting Enzo's gaze, but close. "I wanted to come and see you. When you were really sick, you know. I wanted to come and see you."

Enzo frowned. "Thanks, I guess. Why didn't you?"

"Dot… We didn't think it would be a good idea. We thought it might get you upset or something, and you were pretty sick."

How strange this was - looking at this big, awkward sprite and looking at _himself_. But not himself, too. It was strange. "I would have been happy. You should have come."

"Yeah?" Matrix scratched his beard, took the opportunity to run a big hand over his eyes. "I thought maybe you'd be blaming me for putting you in here. If I hadn't gotten you upset in the armory-"

"Spam! I wanted to see you. You should have come."

"Oh." The big sprite sighed. "I'm sorry. Sorry I got you upset. Sorry I didn't come and visit. I will, next time. Not that there'll _be_ a next time, I mean…"

Enzo felt like pouting for a while, extracting some guilt from Matrix. But part of him felt sorry for Matrix too – he seemed so unhappy all the time. "Jeez – it's no big deal. We're cool. OK?"

"Yeah." Matrix shook his head, smiled gruffly. "I heard about your promotion – that's pixelacious." He extended a hand. "Congratulations."

Enzo stared at the big paw for a nano, surprised. "Thanks." He shook, marveling at how huge Matrix' hand felt, a thousand times bigger than his own. _He'd_ be that big someday – how weird was that?

"Well, you deserve it. You proved it on D-Day."

"Thanks, Matrix."

"So… You brought Dad back again, huh?"

"Sort of. For a little while. I'm not very good at it. I want you to be there the next time, OK? I want Dad to see you."

"Yeah. Maybe. Is it- Is it tough, Enzo? How do you do it?"

"Yeah. It's pretty hard. I have to control the nulls, and they're-"

"Stop!"

"What?" Enzo frowned.

"I don't want to hear." Matrix sighed. "I thought I did, but I don't. I'll take your word for it."

Enzo felt a sting of hurt, surprisingly deep. "Whatever."

"Enzo… Sorry. This is just really weird. I was finally getting used to the idea of having you around and that was hard enough… Now this – it's gonna take me some time-"

"I'm still _me_! I'm still Enzo – I'm not some freak or something!"

"I know. I didn't say you were!"

"I'm not viral or anything, they all said so. I'm not! I'm just a kid, Spammit."

"I know. I know… I didn't mean it that way. I just-"

"Never mind."

"Enzo-"

"Never _mind_. It's OK." Enzo crossed his arms in front of him and squeezed his eyes shut, finally giving in to the urge to pout. "I wish you wouldn't be such a jerk."

Enzo heard the sharp intake of breath, then a few nanos of silence. "Sorry you feel that way."

"I wish you wouldn't be such a jerk because… Spammit! Because I… I want us to be like real brothers. OK?"

A few more moments of silence. "Brothers?"

"Yeah. Sorry that idea sounds so horrible to you-"

"Enzo! I never _said_ that."

"Just…" Enzo opened his eyes. "I never _had_ a brother. I thought it was gonna be really cool, you know! I thought we'd hang out together and you'd show me how to fight and all kinds of stuff. That's- That would have been alphanumeric."

"I never had one either. I went a lot longer without having one than you did."

"I guess so." 

Matrix took a deep breath. "I really do care about you, you know? I care about what happens to you and I don't want to see you hurt. I hated it when you were sick. I want you to be happy. You know all that, don't you?"

__

How would I? Enzo thought bitterly. But he didn't say it. _You just need to be the big brother sometimes_. "I'll try, Dot."

"What?" Matrix frowned.

"Nothing." Enzo sighed, forcing a smile to his face. "I know. I know all that stuff."

"Good." Matrix nodded seriously. "I'm glad. You know I have trouble sometimes. Saying stuff. To people. You know?"

"Kinda like now?"

"You little…" The big sprite raised a fist in mock anger. "Yeah – like now. It's just who I am. So even if I don't say things sometimes, that doesn't mean I don't _want_ to say them. Or feel them. Do you understand?"

"Yeah, I understand." _Just like Dot said._

"OK, then." Matrix smiled awkwardly. "You're a good kid." His big hand came up and gently cuffed Enzo on the neck, stayed there. "Good kid…"

Enzo wanted to hug him, more than anything. It was his way. But he knew it wasn't Matrix' way – not for now, at least. Instead, he lifted a hand and squeezed Matrix' outstretched arm. "Are we brothers, do you think?"

Matrix made eye contact with him at last, his big purple irises a reflection of Enzo's own. "That seems like a good place to start, I guess."

"Alphanumeric." Enzo grinned broadly, but that wasn't in Matrix' repertoire. The big sprite shook his head and chuckled softly. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing, Kid. You just get better and get yourself home, OK?"

"Deal." Enzo nodded. "Uh… Brother?"

"Yeah – Brother?"

"Can I borrow your gun? It looks pretty cool…"

"No!"

"Just checking." Enzo sighed. He playfully punched the bearded sprite on the shoulder.

"Don't push me. I'm a renegade." Enzo scrunched his face up, cheeks turning red, then grabbed his belly and collapsed on the bed, laughing "What's so funny?" The boy stared at him, caught his breath, and laughed even harder, tears rolling down his face. "Well?" 

"N-n-nothing." Enzo panted, holding his sides. "Sorry." He gathered his breath, spitting out a few last involuntary giggles. He brushed the hair out of his eyes and looked up at Matrix' bemused face. "You better not be mean to me or I'll zap you."

"What?" the big sprite cackled.

"I'll zap you!" Enzo held his hands out in front of him and wiggled his fingers, putting on his most fearsome expression.

"Pretty big talk from a little sprite in his PJs." Matrix growled. "Besides – I know something about _you_."

"What?" Enzo asked, a little warily.

"This!" The big sprite's hands darted out and tickled Enzo mercilessly under the arms. The boy screamed and hugged his arms to his body, but Matrix merely assaulted him under the chin. "And this!"

"Stop!" Enzo wailed. "Please!"

"Had enough?"

"Yes! Yes!" Enzo squealed. "Please stop."

"Hmmm. Who's the _big_ brother?"

"Y-you are."

"And who knows _everything_ about you?"

"You do." Enzo panted. "OK? Please, no more…"

"All right, then." Matrix folded his arms, looking pleased with himself. "Thought you were gonna need some new pajamas there for a nano…"

"End file!" Enzo sat up, glaring at him. "I could still zap you if I wanted."

"Just try it."

"Maybe later." Enzo glared for a nano, then got another fit of giggles, prompting another bemused head shake from Matrix. The boy fell back, staring up at him. Thinking about how weird it was, having a brother who knew everything about him. But he guessed it could be pretty good, too. It would certainly be interesting – Enzo had no doubts about that…

"No boots on the sofa!"

"Jeeez…"

"You know the rule, Kiddo – they could be Prime Guardian Turbo's boots for all I care. Either take 'em off or put your feet down."

"Fine. The stupid stuff you worry about…" Enzo grumbled, working the oversized black footwear off his feet. That done, he drew his knees up under his chin and lounged lazily back on the couch. "Happy now?"

"I'm always happy." His sister said with a hint of a smile.

"All this domestic tranquility is getting to be a bit much for me. Think I'll head on back home."

"Aw, Bob! Can't you stay a while? "The Brady Bunch" is on in five micros!"

"Naw – time to call it a night." The Guardian smiled. "You should get to sleep soon, too – cadets need plenty of rest."

"Thanks." Dot whispered. 

"OK." Enzo sighed. "I'm gonna have to think of a new name for you, now." 

"Huh? Hold that thought. Glitch – car." The Guardian winked at Dot. "Like having your own personal chauffeur. Now- what's all this about a new name?"

"Well – I can't really call you Glitch-Bob anymore, can I? It doesn't seem right."

"You called me Glitch-Bob?" the silver-haired sprite raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sure I like that much…"

"Sorry! It was only, you know – in my head. So I could tell you apart." Dot coughed and looked towards the wall.

"Well – OK, then. Though I don't see why you should have any trouble telling us apart…"

"Can't you stay? Please?"

"I'm beat, Tiger. It's gonna take a while for me to get my energy levels back to normal. But I'll see you tomorrow, I promise. You're going on a training run with crewcut, right? We'll do some concentration exercises later."

"Alphanumeric! Thanks." Enzo studied the Guardian's face for a nano. He still looked tired, but that awful shimmering had gone. And the web scars were starting to fade, although Enzo figured they'd always be there. They added a note of sadness to that face that Enzo guessed would always be missing from the younger Guardian's.

"Sleep well, Kiddo." Bob knelt and kissed Dot on the cheek, forcing Enzo to swallow a giggle. "Off to bed for me."

"How does that work, exactly?" Dot grinned.

"We take turns sleeping on the sofa." Bob sighed. "I could do without that. He doesn't clean up after himself, either…"

"What about Glitch?" Enzo asked.

Bob winked at him. "Glitch I don't share! Not after I carried him around inside me for all that time."

"That's enough stalling, Enzo. Let Bob go home, all right?"

"Fine. Night, Bob. I'm glad you're OK."

"Night, Pal." The Guardian kissed Dot again and was out the door.

"He's the best, isn't he?" Enzo grinned, leaning his weight against his sister. "Both of him."

"Yeah he is." Dot draped an arm around his shoulder. 

"Dot?"

"Yes?"

Enzo was silent for a moment, deep in thought. It was a pretty weird time they were living in, that was for sure. "What do you think you're gonna do about Bob? I mean – Well, you know…"

"None of your business aps." Dot said firmly.

"You don't know, huh?"

"Smart guy." She wrestled him playfully, tweaking his nose. "Whatever happens will happen, Enzo. I wish I had an easy answer – but I don't."

"But you do love them both though – right?"

Dot sighed deeply. "Yeah. I do. I wish that was all it took."

Enzo could think of nothing further to say on the topic. It was one of those grown-up matters that he could only get his mind around the fringes of. It was complicated. He understood enough to know that he wouldn't want to be in Dot's shoes – that was for sure. Everything about it was double-sided for _him_, though – two Bobs, no waiting. No waiting for jetball, circuit racing, Guardian training… It was too cool. Whatever happened, the boy wanted both Guardians in Mainframe forever.

"What're you grinning at?"

"Sorry." he said hastily.

Dot raised her arms. "Maybe I should give you something to grin about…"

"No! Please!" She offered a feint towards his armpits, then his chin… Then lowered her arms with a laugh. "Very funny!"

"Heh! My little brother. Off to bed with you, soon. Getting late."

"I _know_…" He snuggled a little closer to her, only half paying attention to the sitcom on the vidscreen. Everybody on sitcoms always seemed so happy. So perfect. Life wasn't like that. He sighed. "Dot?"

"Mmm?"

"Next time I bring Dad back, I'm gonna do better."

"Honey - you did wonderfully. I was very proud of you."

"But I _know_ I can do better. I have to! I wanna bring him back forever, so he never has to go away again. And I want to be able to hug him and wrestle and do all that stuff we used to do before he… He…"

"I know." Dot whispered. "Enzo, it's a miracle that we got Dad back again. You gave us that miracle. That's a good start."

"No I didn't – Hex did."

"Spam! _You_ did. I didn't see Hex in that lab when you brought Dad home."

"I guess." The boy sighed. The vidscreen had lost all interest for him now. "I don't know how Hex did it, Dot! Controlling those nulls was so hard – and I could barely even talk to Dad at the same time. She controlled thousands of them and did all that other stuff and she didn't even need to think about it. She just _did_ it! I wish I knew how."

"She was a very powerful virus, Enzo. All that stuff – it came as naturally to her as breathing or walking comes to you and me. She didn't even have to think about it – it was the only way she knew how to be."

"Yeah - I guess."

"You're learning. You're an amazing boy, all the things you've done. Hex gave you a gift because you accepted her for who she was – that's what kind of a boy you are. It was a wonderful thing for her to do – to repay your faith like that."

"Yeah." Enzo found himself missing Hex all over again, like it had just happened. He'd hated her once, just like Dot. But people changed. You just had to give them a chance. He was glad she was a part of him now. 

"My Enzo." Dot whispered, and kissed him on top of the head.

Enzo yawned deeply, losing all the sense of the world outside he and Dot. He wrapped his arms around her waist and closed his eyes, letting his body relax and his mind rest. The closeness of her was perfect, a complete and totally secure world – his world. She was his whole heart, his entire spirit. He didn't need anything else.

"Angel…" Dot ran one hand through his hair, tousling it slowly over and over, her touch communicating unreserved gentleness and love. It was as pure and untainted as the clearest data stream. To Enzo it felt like the thing he loved more than anything else in the net.

"I can feel your heartbeat." He whispered, sensing himself half-drifting into a dream.

"I can hear yours."

Enzo lay still for a while, the gentle drumbeat of his sister's heart a soft kiss against his cheek. He thought about her heart, and about his own. About what someone would see if they could look inside and find only the truth there. "Dot?" he whispered. Her hand was still slowly ruffling his hair. The boy lifted his gaze to meet her gently smiling one. "I forgive you."

Her smile never left her face, but it was joined by one lone tear at the corner of her right eye. She said nothing for a nano, simply kissed him on the forehead twice, then hugged his cheek to hers. "I love you so much, Sweetie." They were the only words Enzo thought he'd ever need to hear, for the rest of his life.

The knock on the door was so soft that neither sprite heard it at first. When it repeated itself, Dot switched off the vidscreen and laughed softly. "I guess the old piece of junk wouldn't start again." She hoisted Enzo in one arm and walked to the door, his hands around her neck and his head on her shoulder. "Bob, when are you going to get rid of- Oh!"

"Hello, Pretty Lady." The blonde sprite in the doorway said with an easy smile. "And you too, Young Fella. Sorry to disturb you so close to bedtime…"

"Ray!" Enzo beamed at the sight of the Surfr. "How you doin', Mate?"

"No worries, Lad. Sorry to intrude-"

"It's not an intrusion, Ray." Dot smiled. "What brings you out here?"

The surfr scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Well, the thing of it is… I'm a search engine, y'know? I find things – that's my function. I've felt about as useful as a comb at a bald convention around here lately…" Enzo giggled, and the blonde sprite winked at him. "Anyway – I was thinking what with our young mate's new abilities and all, maybe he could use a little help. And I was talking with pretty AndrAIa and Matrix about it, and they suggested someone that might be able to do just that. Someone with inside information, if you like. Only no one knew where to find him, eh? Guess this fella can hide pretty well."

"What in the net are you talking about?" Dot frowned.

Ray flashed an embarrassed grin. "As I say, Pretty Lady – I'm a search engine. And Mainframe's only so big, figured I could find just about anything or anybody slick as a snake, yeah? So I went out and did a little searching. And I found what I was looking for – naturally."

"Ray!" Enzo gasped, an astonished smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "You mean…"

"Free to a good home." Ray stepped aside, revealing the vidscreen and whiskers of a most unusual cat. 

  
  
  


  


  


  


  


  



End file.
